Powers you earn
by Daemonmonkey
Summary: Izuku wanted to be a hero even before he knew what quirk he had. Anima Cacciatore finds a quirkless six-year-old boy with the 'will of a hero' as he called it. "There are two kinds of powers; those you are born with, and powers you earn through hard work. Do you want me to teach you Martial arts?" An OC that teaches Izuku years before he meets All Might.
1. Inroductions

"Stupid Deku! What can a quirkless loser like you do!?" A blond haired boy shouted at the green haired kid lying in the dirt. The young Izuku couldn't do a thing. 'Kaachan may be right' The Traitorous thoughts went through his mind.

"Hey, let's go." one of the boys suggested. Katsuki took him up on the offer and left Izuku on the ground. Even the kid he was trying to protect mocked him before leaving. He hurt all over, and his eyes were starting to leak his tears. Slowly rising from his position, he heard someone nearby.

"Hey, are you alright?" Izuku turned his head to find a young woman hurrying towards him with a worried expression. Her face was foreign, with dark hair that reached her upper back. Her eyes were a glowing orange.

"I-I'm fine. I just got into an a-argument with a f-friend." he stuttered out. He could tell she wasn't buying it and her words confirmed it.

"Looks like you got into a fight to me, hang on. Cara! Potresti portarmi il kit di pronto soccorso!" the woman hollered over her shoulder. Soon a large man came running over. His skin was a touch darker while having sharper features. Izuku noticed his eyes were a piercing yellow. The man pulled out a fair sized first aid kit.

"May we?" he inquired in a slight accent. Izuku nodded and the pair treated his scrapes and bruises.

"T-thank you. Um..." The young boy looked up.

"Sorry! We didn't even introduce ourselves. I'm Jesse Cacciatore, and this is my Husband, Anima." the woman introduced herself. Anima nodded in greeting. Izuku introduced himself in kind.

"Hey. If I may be so bold, how did you get this beat up?" Anima enquired.

"Kaachan was bullying someone, so I tried to get him to stop," Izuku told the couple. Jesse looked at Anima, and he gave a nod. After the young boy was patched up, the Cacciatores' walked him to his home. They didn't stop talking until they reached his porch.

* * *

Izuku's mother, Inko, thanked the couple profusely and offered them some tea inside.

"This is wonderful, Midoriya-san." Anima complimented her.

"Thank you, Cacciatore-san." she inclined her head. Her son had run off to his room with the words 'I'll go show you, hang on.' to get something.

"Anima," he said. She gave him a curious look.

"We're from the west," he explained. "So please, call me Anima."

"A-all right then, Anima-san." Inko conceded. Jesse told her the same, and she decided to change the topic.

"So, what brings you to Japan then?"

"Teaching," Anima stated. He saw the question forming in hosts' head and answered before she asked.

"Not at a school." she looked at him asking silently to continue. "I am a martial artist, a master in fact. I was looking for someone to pass my teachings onto." He could see Inkos' surprise. With 80% of the population owning a quirk, Martial arts weren't what people wanted for self-defence. The only current hero he could think of that used them was Eraserhead. He remembered when he was a hero, many people used martial arts in conjunction with their equipment or powers, if they had any. He heard an 'aha' from Izuku's room. Inko looked to her son's room when the door opened to find him running with one of his notebooks in hand. Stopping just in front of Jesse he held it out to her. She pulled him up to her to read his hero notes with him. Anima started picking up the tea cups while Inko told him she would take care of it.

"Let me help. It's the least I could do." He insisted. When the two went to the kitchen, Anima broke the silence again.

"Your son will make a fine hero." she smiled softly.

"He wants to, so badly, but he's quirkless." Anima glanced at her.

"He's told me. But looking at him, he's planning on it anyway." As Inko turned to her guest to find him give her an apologetic look. He knew the look in Izuku's eyes, as he had them himself when he was young. Young as the kid was, he had the path he was going to take, using almost any method he could think of. Inko looked him in the eye.

"I take it you speak from experience?"

"He reminds me of myself in some ways, yes, but it's from the injuries my wife treated; defending another," Anima told her. His host glanced over to see her son bouncing in Jesse's lap while talking about Cementoss' quirk.

"I know what you're implying, but he isn't you." Inko reasoned.

"And I never want him to be." Anima's words were heavy with his thoughts. He was proud of his life, but he knew his hands were stained with blood. But he could help others from making his worst mistakes.

"Midoriya-san, people like Izuku are rare. The will to help, just for helping, isn't common. That's what drives the best heroes, symbols of peace like All Might, to be just that. That passion to be a hero can fuel him to do remarkable things, but that same passion can be self-destructive if not controlled. I should know, as one of my best friends died because of it." Inko was shocked. Not because her guest's had told her his friend had died, though that was unexpected, but because He was telling her that her baby boy, her little Izuku, had the same outlook as All Might. Anima bowed formally to Inko.

"Midoriya-san, Please let me guide that fire in your son to bring him to his absolute height. Let me help your child achieve his dreams with my teachings." His voice was quiet, but they had the weight of ages behind them. When Inko caught a glimpse of the man's' eyes Her worries were relieved then. This man didn't just offer, he almost begged to help her son.

"On one condition," she stated. "Let Izu-kun decide whether to learn from you or not." Anima smiled and nodded. He wouldn't have it any other way.

* * *

"And that's how Snipe caught the bank robbers!" Izuku told Jesse. She Smiled with a 'that's nice' while thinking. The boy was smart, she could tell, but his knowledge on heroes was impressive. Details most wouldn't see were used by him to infer a startling amount about the exact way someone's power worked. When Inko and Anima came back, she saw the look in her spouse's eye. She could hear what they were talking about, unlike the over excited boy. Over the next minute or so, Anima calmed Izuku down to ask him the question.

"Hey Midoriya-kun, can I call you Izuku?" The boy nodded. "Alright then, Izuku, you told me you wanted to be a hero, right?" Izuku looked confused but nodded again. Anima took a breath, as this was it.

"Would you like me to help you be one?" His eyes widened instantly.

"M-me? A h-hero?" Izuku asked. At Anima's nod, he was getting nervous.

"But Kachan said someone had to have a strong quirk to be a hero, a-and I don't even have one. Kachan could learn more fr-" Anima cut him off

"No, you. I use to be a hero myself, at one point, and you gave me enough reason to believe you." Anima's eyes were soft. His voice was filled with warmth.

"There are two main types of power. Those you are born with," Izuku's eyes went down. "And powers you earn, through hard work." Anima lifted the child's head. "I can help you can earn your place as a hero if you want me to." Izuku was tearing up.

"C-can I b-be a hero too?" it wasn't a question, it was a plea. The plea of a child whose dreams were shattered after everyone told him he couldn't chase his biggest dream.

"Yes. I don't think, I know you can be a hero." his voice didn't raise in tone, yet there was so much conviction in them that his words carried power. The dam broke, and young Izuku felt overjoyed. 'Someone believes in me.' His tears fell from his face, darkening his shirt. After a while of comforting, Izuku dried his eyes. Looking at Anima, he gave his answer.

"Please teach me, Sensei!" Izuku's lit up the room with a smile. Anima gave a gentle one of his own. He passed a note with his address to Inko.

"My schedule is almost always free, so come when you can." he then turned back to his student.

"Izuku-san, the first thing I'm going to tell you as a teacher are the three codes of honor amongst those of the 'lang de lujing' that I practice." seeing him nod gave him the assurance he was paying attention.

"Rule one; don't force your will upon others. People's ability to choose is what makes one human, so don't take that away." Simple in concept, but Anima loathed those who often broke this rule.

"Rule two; all life is sacred. Preserve as many lives as possible, but don't forget your lives' value as well." Inko was relieved at the last statement.

"Rule three: trust your instincts when things don't feel right, and trust your training when all is against you. They are the two things to never let you down." Anima had trusted this rule when all else failed him, and it helped him make it through anything the world gave him.

"Can you follow these three rules?" The teacher asked.

"Yes, sensei!" was his disciple's excited reply.

"Meet me at my house when you can, and we'll start then."

* * *

Author's Notes: This is the second fanfiction I've ever put on paper, er… computer. Anyways, Jesse and Anima are characters that were in a marvel-DC amalgam roleplay I've done with family. By the time of this writing, I'm still playing a younger version of Anima, named Lupo at the age of 17. Some of the characters and Ideas from the roleplay are going to leak though, so I'm sorry if these aren't your thing. And because of the lack of timeline in Boku no Hero, I'm putting it in the future, more on that next chapter. By for now!


	2. Trust

Six years have passed since then, and Inko could hardly be happier. Since Izuku started learning, his confidence has grown. Anima wasn't just her son's teacher, but the Cacciatore's had become friends to the Midoriya. The couple had come to her house every now and then, and she had been invited to their house for snacks and conversations as well.

Izuku's first two months had been endless repetition to make the basics and fundamentals second nature followed by basic muscle, speed, and stamina training until he was exhausted. She worried the first few times, but while he was breathing heavily, Izuku had a look of satisfaction. Anima also taught her son meditation and calligraphy for him to practice at home for training control. Now, Izuku was, by Anima, considered a 4th dan in his 10 rank school. He told Izuku that 5th dan was multitudes harder to reach and that Anima was the only 10th dan in the style.

Jesse was also helping him from time to time as a tutor. Turns out Jesse worked as a therapist for teenagers. Izuku looked up to her as an aunt of sorts, and she was more than happy to fill that role for him. Right now the four were at a good restaurant in congratulations for Izuku's straight A's in his finals for primary school.

"You have praise-worthy dedication. Not only have you regularly come to the dojo, but your attendance and grades were the best in the whole school. Nice job, Izuku-san!" Anima wasn't one to throw praise around, so Izuku was red in embarrassment. Luckily, they rented a private booth, or the staring would have made it worse. Jesse decided to even the playing field.

"At least you didn't have the record Anima had" she grinned as his face dawned in horror.

"What was Anima-san like?" inko asked innocently. Knowing that he would only make it worse if he let her tell it, Anima decided to bite it.

"I, uh, I wasn't the most orthodox student in my school years." Jesse laughed.

"Your best friend tried to mug you on your first meeting, your attendance was horrid, and you came in with blood on your clothes. What was 'orthodox' during your time in school?" Anima choked on his wine at her very blunt statement.

"I was a cheerleader?" it sounded like a question more than an answer. The two Midoriya's just stared at him in utter bafflement. He could see the thought running across their faces. Anima always tried to be as polite as he could, and while he was straight forward, he tried not to be rude.

"Anima-sensei was a delinquent?" He shook his head at Izuku's question, giving Jesse a dry look to her unapologetic one.

"Thank you, dear. Now my disciple thinks I was a trouble child." he drawled while trying to hold his smile back.

"My attire and attendance was due to my being a hero, and that was only high school. Trying to criminals use to get me shot at, frequently. Since I had only so many articles of clothing, and blood's a pain to get out of thick weaves like denim, so I just had to suck it up and wear them." Izuku was on the edge of his seat. Anima hardly talked about his hero days. His current project was finding out his age. That was harder than he thought because one of his (and his wife, who seemed to have the same) quirk's abilities was slowing his aging to a crawl. Inko shook her head, trying not to think of a high school boy purposefully going where he knew he was going to get shot.

"Izu-kun's getting closer, Anima-san. Why don't you tell him?" she joked, trying to change the mood. To her surprise, Anima shrugged.

"Sure, I was born March 15th." Everyone looked surprised, even Jesse, and she knew he'd go the whole way.

"Of the year 1999." the private room was silent until Izuku jolted up.

"But it's 2302! That would mean you're 303 years old!" The way the martial artist didn't react told them he wasn't lying. His next words confirmed it.

"302, my birthday is later this month. Jesse's only a year younger." This was rewarded with a love tap from her, mumbling about a girl's age. The Midoriya's were silent. Three centuries of life. The amount they have seen may have been enormous, and Anima had told them he started martial arts when he was seven and hadn't stopped since. That also means that he wasn't government sanctioned like current heroes; he was a vigilante.

"So, your quirks give you a longer lifespan," Izuku noted, but was again stopped.

"That's why we got a private room. You've been my student for years and a 4th dan, To advance further, you have to know a few things. One of those is that quirks aren't the only form of abilities." Looking at Izuku's confusion, he continued.

"Do you remember what I told you about powers the day you became my student?" Anima asked

"There are the those you are born with and powers you earn through hard work."His disciple's response was automatic. Nodding at the verbatim answer, the master continued the back and forth.

"Quirks aren't the only powers out there. There are older, more potent forms of power. Quirks are just easier to come across." He raised his left arm and his student watched the muscled limb grow in size while gaining a dark gray fur. He had a pure ivory claw on each finger, about two inches long. Jesse did the same with her right. Her fur was lighter in color, with shorter, more slender claws. The couple held hands as they turned to human again. Anima blinked as he realized something.

"Looks like we accidentally set up for what else I was going to bring up this dinner. It's about where Izuku's training will go from now on."

"You can't be thinking of teaching Izu-kun magic, can you?" Inko asked.

"Jesse's and my werewolf transformations are a hereditary magic, but I won't teach mage-craft to your son." he calmly stated.

"Why not?"

"Cause I suck at it." he bluntly told them. Izuku was deflating at the fact. His teacher looked at him.

"I'm gonna teach you how to utilize chi instead." Izuku perked at that.

"What's the difference between them?" Anima looked at his wife as she answered for him.

"Semantics," she stated with her spouses' directness. "Both are using your will to channel energy and shape reality. The main difference is application. Chi focus' on the body, while magic is focused on world altering. Neither is better, but Anima knows chi because of his path." while his mother still looked skeptical, but was slowly coming to terms with it in time. Her son was mumbling to himself about his new knowledge and how it fits with what he's learned from their slips of the tongue.

"Now I don't teach these things freely, so please know that while great power means great opportunities, it also means you bear the responsibilities for them. Understand?" Anima questioned Izuku.

"What do I need to do?" His student enquired, pleasantly surprising him. As passionate as the kid was, he always tried to think things through.

"One, the three codes of honor must be followed. Two, you may not try teaching someone until you become an 8th dan. And the last and hardest," his gaze sharpened at his dear student. "don't hesitate to ask for help when you need it." Anima's eyes were sharp, but tainted by sadness. Too many friends had died because they didn't want to burden anyone with their problems. After Izuku saw those eyes, he knew that rule was broken more than any other. Even Jesse-san was serious. The doubt cleared from his mind as he turned to his instructor.

"I want to be a hero that people look up to! Please help me get there, sensei!" Anima looked at his disciple with pride, knowing the spark he first saw had grown to the fire he had in him today.

"Wonderful, Izuku. You've already exceeded my expectations. There's only one thing left; naming your path." Izuku was shocked. Not only had his teacher dropped his honorifics, but had given him the right to give a name to his path. Anima's was the 'Lang de Lujing' or 'path of the wolf' (it made more sense now that he knew what his teacher was). Having your own path had the meaning of forging your own destiny. Anima telling him to name his path was telling him to make his path for himself. He had the name in his mind the day he knew what it meant.

"Bahou de Lujing. The path of the protector." Those words were what he stood for. Saving lives, helping people, protecting those who couldn't protect themselves. He wanted to be the one people look up to, just like his favorite hero, All Might.

"One of the hardest paths to make. I like it!" as Anima said these words, both were smiling. Inko saw this all as they were in their own world. Jesse gave her a reassuring pat on her shoulder.

"We'll be with him almost every step of the way. He won't make the worse mistakes, at the very least." The she-wolf smiled. Inko gave a small nod.

"I know you will, but I can't help worrying about my baby boy." Her tears fell silently as her mind raced on about what harm could come to him.

"I know the sensation," Jesse stated, as Inko gave her a look. "My husband was a hero as well. Even if he says he's retired, the moment trouble starts, he's the first to jump in. the scariest time was when someone impaled him. My advice, Inko-chan, is to learn extensive first aid." She didn't know why, but Jesse looked almost resigned. It was as if she came to terms with the aforementioned anxiety her husband caused. The only thing the women could do for now was to pray for their loved ones.

* * *

The next time Izuku came for a lesson, Anima brought him to the room they practiced meditation. Izuku's favorite incense had been lit and the four sticks were in the room's corners. He took a seat in the center of it all.

"Take your shirt off. We're going to start by letting you feel my chi for you to sense your own." Anima told him, doing the same. His mentor took their shirts out of the room and took a lotus style seat behind him. Izuku went still as his breathing slowed while his mentor's hand started to glow with a calming yellow flame. Anima put his hand in the middle of Izuku's spine and his chi flowed into the young boy. The warmth that spread through his body was unbelievable. The comfort was enveloping, but Izuku felt an underlying current of wrath behind it, as if It was waiting for a person to be used on. Anima had told him that werewolves had the rage of a god coursing through them, and he could feel it. But it wasn't directed at him, but at anything that would do him harm, like a pack of wolves protecting him. The warmth faded, making Izuku shiver at the cold. Soon, he felt normal, as if his body filled the space his teacher's energy had just vacated. He paid close attention to that sensation to look over it again later. As Anima sat in front of him, Izuku noticed the incense had burnt the entire length.

"How did it feel?" the question hung in the air while he formed his experience into words.

"Like I was in a den of wolves. Comforting, but the underlying current of anger made it feel like it was made for violence." The words carried a strange weight to them. Anima gave a smile.

"Werewolves have that wrath since the day we are born to the last breath we take. It's not inherently destructive, it just needs control and direction. Now, for the next part. Forming your chi. This will be frustrating, but I'll be with you every step of the way." for the next few hours, Izuku never gave up.

* * *

Inko went to the Cacciatores after Jesse had called saying Anima and Izuku were still in the meditation room. Every now and then, The boys would lose track of time until someone told them, so she was used to it. At the door, Jesse greeted her and brought her to the tea room. Inko was always impressed by the size of the house the couple lived in. she found out that they bought the land and a friend came to make the small eastern manor as a gift. After some small talk, they heard Izuku shout down the hall.

"I-I did it! Yes!" Anima was heard giving him congratulations at the fact. There was a pause until the shoji door opened and a bare chested Izuku found himself in the room.

"Jesse-san, I managed to form my chi! Oh mom, when did you get here?" The women smiled at his hyperactive antics. Inko inclined him to show his progress, and her son nodded. Closing his eyes in focus, a small, lighter sized flame flickered into existence on his index finger. Jesse gave a small applause.

"Good job Izuku-chan. It took you only what, eight hours?"

"Try ten. He came in at six, and spent two hours familiarizing himself with my chi, then spent till just now trying to do it himself." Anima walked in the room without a shirt as well. Inko noticed a palm sized crooked starburst shaped scar over his chest. She remembered the night Jesse told her about the injury, but this was her first time seeing it. As he turned to his wife, a matching exit scar could be seen on his back. Whatever impaled him was big and went all the way through the man. After giving his wife her hello kiss, Anima turned to see Inko.

"Would you be more comfortable if I had a shirt on?" he asked politely.

"I-I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to stare!" she stammered.

"Not what I asked. Would you be more comfortable if I had a shirt?" after an ashamed nod, he walked off to get Izuku and his shirts. After he came back dressed, he pelted his mumbling student across the face with his. As Izuku put his shirt on, Anima addressed the unspoken question.

"I was twenty when I got it. While being a regenerator makes it hard, heavy damage can leave scars, but they don't hurt. I came to terms with mine long ago." He was calm talking about it.

"That's not the only one?" Inko didn't know why she asked, but the words fell out almost callously

"You probably didn't see them when you focused on the blatant one but faded as they are, I have them." he wasn't even fazed by her tone, as the question was one he answered many times before.

"Ah, sensei! When can I learn how to use this?" Izuku blatantly broke the tension as he made another small flame of chi. As it went out, his eyes fell a bit and he stumbled forward as Anima and Jesse caught him.

"Careful there. I told you that chi is the energy of life, remember? Overusing it isn't a good idea. Also, your starting training is to get used to making it, maintaining it, and growing it. Then you focus on control, finally working on power. Until then, promise me you won't train your chi without either Jesse or me giving permission." Anima gave him a lecture while setting him down in a chair. Inko followed him into the kitchen, worry overflowing.

"Do you mean that if he uses that too often, Izuku could hurt himself? How badly? Is he going to be-" Anima cut her off.

"Fine, he's going to be fine, Inko-san. Utilizing chi is just physically and mentally exhausting. Overuse will have him passing out and messing with his focus, but unless he does something monumentally stupid, he'll be fine. Now, would you like to help me cook some food for the kid who hasn't eaten since breakfast?" Having been placated, Inko decided to pull out all the stops for her son. After talking with each other some more and busying themselves in the kitchen, a large dinner was served in the dining room. Lively conversations abounded. Finally given the go ahead, Izuku got Anima to tell stories of his hero days. Some were touching, others awe inspiring, and a few that gave the Midoriyas chills. Inko told of Izuku's childhood complete with, to the boy's horror, baby pictures. Izuku talked about the latest things heroes, and Jesse talked about work and poking fun at other people's stories. Before they knew it, the sun had set and the dishes had been finished. Jesse walked them home for safety. When Izuku dragged himself to his room he fell asleep almost instantly.

Well, that's a wrap. While I know I'm going to get some flak, while the supernatural isn't in the MHA universe, this is sorta a blend with another hero world and It was present in the world Anima is in (Kinda has to be for what he is). I know some of you readers are curious about what my version of werewolves can do, so I'm going to tell you. While their powers grow in different ways depending on the individual, all werewolves are tough bastards to kill. Durability, regeneration, heightened senses, and an almost unlimited amount of endurance. Transformed in their large wolf or bipedal wolf those abilities, including their physical ones are even stronger. Anima is specifically built for speed, while Jesse is better at her senses. Also, the fact that this world is centuries in the future; it has little impact on the story other than to make Anima that old. That is all for today; I will see you next time


	3. A Different Beginning

What's this? Yes, I have posted another chapter; no, I don't write this fast. I made the first six or so chapters were made before I even Made my fanfiction account, so I'm just formatting and uploading them every day until I hit the block. So no, I can't write two thousand plus words a day. There are exceptions, but those are random and depending on my mood. Onto the time where the canon was fired!

* * *

"Alright, class, it's at this time that I'm supposed to have you write down your career choice. I know that the vast majority of you want to be heroes though" The teacher's words had the whole class in celebration.

"Hey teach! Don't put me in with these others!" Katsuki's words rang throughout the room as the students turned to him.

"The hell!"

"What do ya mean by that!?"

"Shut up you secondary characters!" The teacher tried to change the subject after Katsuki's response to their jeers.

"That's right, aren't you going to be aiming for UA?" the classes reaction changed as people were discussing How hard it was to get in there.

"Oh yeah, Midoriya was planning on enrolling there too!" That one line shifted the class attention once again. Izuku gave a shy smile as he scratched the back of his head at their inquiries. In another life, he may have been ashamed of himself, but not now he was just uncomfortable. He had Anima-sensei and Jesse-san to believe and push him now. He moved his hero notebook #13 off his desk just before Bakugo blew it up.

"What the hell, Deku?! Tell me when you're doing something like this!" His shout echoed over his classmates. Seeing him look sheepish, Bakugo gave his rival a verbal nudge.

"Let's see whether your martial arts can measure up to my quirk. Whoever get's a better score on the entrance exam wins!" It was known since primary school that Izuku had taken up martial arts, and Bakugo found it to be one of his few points of pride he could push to get him involved in a contest.

"The whole point martial arts were cultivated in the first place was for weak people to take on those that have more power than themselves. You're on." His voice was quiet, but the class heard his conviction. Though he didn't realize it, some of his peers respected him for his confidence in his career choice. A few even took a martial art class of their own to see and a couple enjoyed it. After a discussion with Bakugo, The bell rang. Izuku went the long route to his house to let his mind wander about the villain attack he saw that morning. As he walked through the tunnel, a sludge villain came from the sewer pipe.

"Lucky me, an invisibility cloak. Don't worry, it'll only hurt for a little while," the villain told Izuku as he tried to force himself into Izuku's body. The boy was trying to keep calm while using chi to not suffocate. It wasn't easy, but he was slowing him down.

" **Don't worry my boy, because I am here!** " came a booming voice.

" **Texas, SMASH!** " The wind pressure threw the sludge man off of Izuku, allowing him to breathe. While it took a few minutes, the world finally stopped spinning around the teen. Looking up, the towering figure of All Might was kneeling beside the lithe boy.

* * *

As the two settled down on the roof from the previous escapade, Steam was emitting from the large hero.

"All Might! Are you-" Izuku stopped. Where the symbol of peace once stood was a skeleton of a man. Izuku noticed the similarities in the eyes and hair and figured it out.

"I am All Might…" he spoke through the blood coming from his mouth. Izuku panicked as he reached into his bag where he pulled a small first aid kit. It was a habit he picked up from the Cacciatores. Handing the haggard man a swath of gauze, he helped him sit down.

"Are you alright? What happened?" Over his panicked actions, All Might smiled. This kid tried to help before asking questions unlike so many others. Many heroes could learn a thing from him.

"Due to some injuries five years back, I can only keep that form for a few hours a day." He pulled his shirt up to show a large scar that spider webbed from a large indent on his lower left abdomen.

"Five years… Toxic Chainsaw? Or maybe one not shown over the news…" as Izuku was tending to any wounds he could help, his patient heard his mumblings.

"Good memory, my boy. Is it quirk related?" one person he helped had a memory quirk, so another one-

"No, I don't have a quirk. There wasn't any new damage I could see, so there wasn't much I could do." He looked relieved of the fact. As they were going down the fire escape, All Might's curiosity got the better of him.

"Are you planning on a medical career?" The green haired boy looked at him with a small smile to melt the heart.

"No, I'm going to be a hero who saves many people, just like you." the lanky man looked at him in worry. Deciding that he was helping the boy, in the long run, he spoke his concerns.

"My boy, as much as it may hurt, you should find another career to pursue. Without a quirk, you would be at a disadvantage and be risking your life almost every encounter. If you really want to help people, try for a job as a police officer. It may not be as glamorous, but it's better than losing your life." Izuku's head dropped. It was a harsh reality, but it made sense. When most people thought hero, they thought of a person with a strong quirk. All Might was upset he had essentially crushed a kid's dreams, but it had to be done or his death would be on the hero's conscience.

Instead of the expected crying, The young boy gave a deep breath. It was clear the hero's words affected him, but it looked like resignation instead of despair. It was like he had learned that those words would be spoken many times in his life, but chose to continue anyway. The boy looked at the man with eyes of determination and spoke the words that prevented him from wavering.

"My sensei told me that there are two types of powers; those you are born with, and powers you earn through hard work. I know I'm at a disadvantage, but I won't give up. I will be a hero!" like when those same words were spoken so many years ago, without the volume being raised, the belief in those words carried power. Even All Might was moved by their weight.

"Thank you for helping me, All Might-san. Have a pleasant day." Izuku gave a respectful bow to the adult as they started going separate ways. The symbol of peace had a lot of food for thought that the young Izuku had given him.

* * *

As Izuku was continuing his walk home, lost in his own thoughts once again, An explosion had erupted a few blocks away. Running to the scene, he heard the locals talking about the villain All Might was chasing having a hostage, Izuku's blood ran cold as he remembered the villain was in the pocket of the leg he grabbed, realizing he was the reason he had escaped. The heroes on sight didn't have the equipment or quirks to deal with him and were bickering amongst themselves. When he saw the hostage in question was Katsuki, that cold feeling vanished. Before he knew it, he had run past the police line to save his bully.

"You brat! I should've dealt with you back under the bridge!" As the villain swung at him, Izuku slid under the tendrils of sludge. ' _Rule 3, trust your training and instincts, they are the only things that will never try to betray you_ ' the green haired boy reheard the words his sensei had told him on multiple occasions. Listening to his body, he threw his backpack at the villain. One of the contents had managed to hit him in the eye. Running closer he had Bakugo in his hands as the blond was shouting as he was pulling him from the sludge.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE DEKU!?"

"YOU LOOKED LIKE YOU NEEDED HELP!" was the only response that Izuku could give him. There was a large hand that grabbed the two as the deep, booming voice of the number one hero reverberated from behind them.

" **To have a child remind me how to be a hero when I just told him he couldn't. I must be setting the wrong example! Detroit, SMASH!** " the gust of wind was felt for only a moment, and the villain was scattered all around the block. As the crowd started cheering, rain had started to sprinkle down.

* * *

After Izuku had to give a statement to the authorities, he had decided he had enough excitement for that day. A few blocks from his home, the muscled form of All Might came from around the corner. After some worry and mild embarrassment for coughing blood while reverting to his more sickly form mid sentence, All might went to the point.

"I came here to apologize, and to make you an offer. When even the heroes sat back, you were the only one who ran to help. You, someone without a quirk, did something like that when I had told you not ten minutes earlier that you couldn't do it. I am rectifying my words, you can be a hero!" Izuku gave a bright smile as tears of joy fell from his face. Even his idol believed in him now. All Might saw the burden he placed on the boy lift and then some.

"Now for my proposal; you are one that's worthy of inheriting my strength, if you accept it." the last words got Izuku to look up to the hero in puzzlement. The man gave a chuckle before explaining himself.

"My quirk isn't one isn't unlike the sacred torch passed down in legends. I am the eighth successor in fact. One man cultivates strength and passes it to the next, only for the next user in the cycle to do the same for their successor. I want you to be the ninth bearer to this quirk; One For All!" as Izuku had heard these words, he started mumbling about the way it could be possible until the frail man stopped him. His next words surprised even himself.

"I would love to, but we need to talk to sensei about something this important." It made sense. After the day he was told of chi, there were no secrets between Anima and Izuku, not even his mother had the level of trust his teacher did. All might was surprised, but if this 'sensei' gave the green haired boy the nearly unshakable resolve, then they must have known each other for a long time. Even with the admiration for the hero clear as day on his face, he didn't jump at the opportunity.

"Alright, when do you think he could see me?"

"I'm going to his house to train tomorrow, so you can explain things then" the boy politely told his idol while writing the address on a scrap of paper.

* * *

After reassuring his mother that he was fine and he wasn't at risk of keeling over, the green haired boy was lying on his bed while calling his teacher on the phone.

"Izuku-san, I'm glad you called. Jesse and I have been worried about you." Anima's voice was comforting to the boy, and it was touching that they were worried.

"I'm alright Anima-sensei, just exhausted. That's not what I called about though. Due to the villain attack and a bit before, I had All Might wanting to help me become a hero, and he's coming to talk to you tomorrow." there was a pregnant pause as he knew that Anima was pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Nothing's ever going to be normal after this, you know that right?" his teacher asked him.

"I've been learning martial arts from a multi-century old werewolf since I was six. When was my life normal?" he asked rhetorically.

"Age five and prior." Izuku laughed at the non-sequitur and deadpan answer. After righting himself, Izuku gave his honest opinion.

"It'll help, having All Might teaching me, that is. You haven't been a hero in a long while, so you never even got your hero license. All Might said he'd talk to you when you two meet." after a little more conversation to ease his mind of the day's "excitement", Izuku fell asleep to prepare for the adventure tomorrow would bring.

* * *

After everyone needed found themselves in the living room, All Might went through everything that he cleared with Izuku to his mentor. After a moment, he took a breath and looked at his pupil. Handing him a guide for the Chinese character Hua (舙), Izuku excused himself to the study to let them talk privately.

"Calligraphy? That's not what I expected for getting him to give us privacy." the haggard man wondered aloud.

"It's a meditation and control exercise. It also, to his and his mother's delight, made his handwriting the best in class." The martial artist gave a smirk before he steeled his face to get to the point.

"Yagi-san, If you want to train him, know that the 'will of heroes' lies deeply in my student." seeing toshinori tilt his head, he continued.

"He wanted to be a hero before we met, and that desire to protect hasn't and probably won't ever waver. He wants to inspire like you do, and with that passion, he will; it's why I decided to train him all those years ago." the look in his host's eyes as he spoke those words made the frail hero pause. Those eyes looked ancient, too old for someone of his apparent age. As he continued, those eyes never changed.

"I use to be a hero at one point as well, and I made so many mistakes in my life that it's not even funny. You have as well if I'm not wrong. I don't want him to make any of my worst failures. Would you work with me to make Izuku the hero he wishes to become?" Anima gave All Might A small bow from his seat. The pro hero smiled at the intent. He was expecting him to show ego at who looked to be his only prized pupil, only to have him ask if he was willing to work together for the young Izuku. No ego, no overconfidence, only the will to make his student's dream a reality. It was a refreshing feeling, being treated like an equal. The haggard hero gave the martial artist a bow of his own.

"I would be honored if you would allow me to aid in making young Izuku's dream reality, Anima." the words fell easily from the man.

"Thank you, Toshinori." both knew that honorifics were unnecessary between them anymore. They were both the teachers of Izuku, and while Toshinori couldn't have the trust and bond that Anima shared with the green haired boy, he was now responsible for Izuku just the same. Small talk played between the two men after they shared many things that concerned Izuku (Toshinori was shocked about chi, but reasoned that if a quirk could be passed down, other forms of powers weren't impossible).

Izuku came back after a while to show his work on the word he was given. Upon approval and pointers, training began as the teachers discussed how to integrate Toshinori's training to Izuku's training schedule. After agreeing The frail man would take over physical strength training and later (when he got it) quirk training while Anima would continue on technique alongside mental, and chi training. They would discuss when they needed compromise, but their student's health always came first. The current goal: get Izuku into UA.

* * *

Whoever can guess the Chinese character that Izuku practiced get's a cookie. Katsuki is still arrogant, but after a previous event that I will reveal later, he treats Izuku as a rival to see who's stronger. Speaking of our bush haired hero, I know that he's not the jumpy, nervous wreck in canon and that's on purpose. The first point, he has people who believe in him, so he has more confidence. That also explains his reaction to All Might telling him he couldn't be a hero; It still hurt, just as much as if your favorite role model said you should give up your dreams, but again, he has a small group of family that supports and helps him along his chosen goal. Second point; He has been trained in martial arts, which means that he has more self-control. When I was learning martial arts, I was told to control my emotions (the one in my case was restlessness) instead of letting them control me. Izuku has been taught the same, but he isn't unflappable. Our hero is the type of person who wears their heart on their sleeve, so everyone can see his emotions clear as day, but he doesn't let those emotions cloud his judgment. Was he ecstatic He met All Might?

Hell yeah, and it was visible, but it didn't prevent him from asking Anima if it was okay to learn from someone else. As for the large skips, they're parts that mainly follow the cannon, so I don't want to write them. Any part that doesn't seem clear, that would be my fault, as this is one of my first stories I've written. For now, though, that's all folks!


	4. Preparation

Hey, it's me again! I must thank you all that have given me reviews of encouragement! Here is Chapter four, so enjoy!

* * *

It was more of a trail run, but Izuku's first goal when learning from yagi-sensei was a form of strongman training; the prize for doing so was One For All. Cleaning the illegal dump site that use to be a beach. Even cleaning the whole beach instead of just the designated area only took a single month. If he didn't have good health before then it probably would have taken him ten, but as he was in phenomenal condition it just got him to use a few muscles he didn't use as much.

While a little awkward, gaining One For All made a few problems. Namely, how to approach Inko with the fact her son gaining a quirk at age thirteen. While Toshinori wanted to make it sound like Izuku was a late bloomer, Anima reasoned that there were few people who gained one at his age and that while most would buy it, this was Izuku's mother. Izuku wondered if they could make it sound like they could disguise it as chi, but he was reminded that they had already told her how it functioned. Anima was pretty sure that out right telling her would have the least fallout in the long run, and they could omit some facts to keep the identity of All Might secret. Izuku And Toshinori had to admit that giving her a half truth was probably the safest choice compared to making her guess, so they told her that Izuku had impressed Toshinori to the point he decided to help train him.

"How does this explain Izuku gaining a quirk?" Inko inquired. Anima had always explained himself when her baby boy was involved, so she remained patient.

"Midoriya was given a stockpiling quirk with the ability to be passed from one person to another, adding the power accumulated by those who used it prior. I've been injured, so I can't use it anymore. Your son can." Toshinori told the half truth. While the embers of One For All remained, the quirk was technically no longer his. Watching her mull over these facts, she gave a nod.

"Alright then, if anything, I know you have the best intentions for Izuku. Anima-kun, Yagi-san, Thank you for telling me this. And yagi-san, while I don't personally know you, if Anima-kun trusts you, I'll trust you" the words stung as the two knew and hated they were hiding things from her. During the time Toshinori was having Inko ask him more questions for her son's sake, he coughed up a large amount of blood. Inko's expression turned from stern to worried almost instantly.

"Oh dear, what's wrong? Here, lie down while I get the kit." Inko set Toshinori down while she went to the corner of the room. Lifting the cushion on a foot stool revealed a large amount of medical supplies.

"Midoriya-san, I'm alright. This is the after effects of the of the injury."At Toshinori's words, Inko put the top of the foot rest back, but she maintained a worried gaze if he needed anything else. Toshinori looked at the similar way mother and child reacted at someone's injuries.

"Since when did you have medical supplies like that?" Anima questioned.

"Since Jesse-san helped me learn first aid. If Izuku wants to be a hero then I'll do anything I can to help, starting with the ability to tend to his wounds." Toshinori smiled at her words. While thinking 'That boy has the best support he could have', he honestly felt like he was butting into his student's seemingly perfect life. The trust that the martial artist and his wife shared with the Midoriya house was like his trust with Nana. Pushing the depressing thoughts away, the talk dissolved into chatter from how Inko could help Izuku with his diet to what was new on the TV. Toshinori found that jumping into the conversation was surprisingly easy.

* * *

After gaining the hero Recovery Girl for his first use of One for all, the four were once again at the beach that Izuku finished cleaning a week prior.

"Just clench your butt while shouting 'smash' with all your might!" the previous inheritor told the boy. Izuku took a loose stance and cocked his arm back. The punch was fast, and the temporary split in the ocean showed its power. Feeling the afterglow of using the power, he tried to throw his arms in the air in triumph only to find his arm hurting. Recovery girl was by his side just after he screamed in pain. His arm broke. Not just the bones, but muscles and skin tore as well. After giving a quick kiss to his arm, Recovery Girl stole his stamina to heal his arm. Toshinori walked up to his student.

"That was impressive, young Midoriya! That was a strong punch" He praised while Anima came up behind him.

"Your form was off. Technique is how you mitigate injury, no matter the power. Rule 3." It wasn't condemning, but his words were blunt. Izuku broke the rule of not trusting his training when given something different.

"How did it feel? The sensation, I mean. It's different for everyone." the haggard hero asked. While he wanted to argue with Anima, he knew the argument was valid.

"Like electricity, but not painful. It was a rush that went through me." with full use of his arms, Izuku wrote his notes down in the book Anima held for him. He recorded the sensation, the effect, and after asking the recovery quirk user, the damage it inflicted him.

"Good. Now to get your body use to the strain. Until then, let's see how much you can safely use." His frail teacher told him. Anima gave a small look at his fellow teacher and gave a simple question.

"You're an instinctual type, aren't you?" getting a confused grunt, he continued. "You learn by gut feeling." Getting a nod, Anima sighed.

"Izuku is an Intellectual type. He learns things by going into detail before he starts making it second nature."

"Does this mean I can't teach him?" Toshinori asked, nervous. Relief flooded him as Anima shook his head.

"No, but it will pose some problems. Being with Izuku for eight years, I can help you, but teaching and learning are different sides of the coin. You can learn faster, but teaching isn't the easiest thing for instinctual types." As Izuku was hearing his teachers talk, he let his mind wander about the feelings his quirk and chi had. His quirk felt like lightning; powerful, but uncontrolled. His chi was more akin to a fire; still dangerous, but soothing and calming. He sat in the lotus position and went into his inner mind. He always saw his chi as a comforting bonfire, and with his quirk now present, he saw a dazzling light made of nine interconnecting points. Activating One For All without moving, he felt the energy coursing through him. It spread through him in set paths while the power bled beyond the trail. He moved that power around, cutting off paths to let the other ones get more. He felt like an egg in a microwave. Too little power, nothing happened. Too much, and he'd break. Gently letting the energy subside, he opened his eyes to find his teachers looking at him.

"Looks like he's following rule three again." Anima Looked pleased.

"The heck is rule three?" Toshinori asked.

"Follow your instincts and training. It's why I got on his case with the hail marry. He knows not to cock the arm back, as it's wasteful as he loses speed and opens his guard. His stance wasn't the best either." the other teacher noted that rule, and to ask the other two later. It was sound advice, as what you know can help you find what you don't.

"Good rule." he told the martial artist.

"It's why I've been following it almost all my life" was the response. Recovery Girl looked as Toshinori and Anima talked while trying to help their mutual student. They acted like they've known each other for years when they didn't even know each other's names two months ago. The 'All Might' smile that he wore like a shield was nowhere to be found. The haggard man's smile was smaller, more sincere than his hero smile.

"If Midoriya-kun seems to be able to use his quirk without harm, then my work is done." She called to the three boys. They looked at each other before they all turned to her.

"Thank you, Recovery Girl!" the three spoke and bowed in unison, shocking her. Formal thanks weren't given to heroes often and here she was, retired, being given three at once.

"Don't mention it, boys. Call me if someone gets hurt again" she smiled as she walked to her car. 'Those boys will be fine if they have each other.' she thought as she left for home.

* * *

Pulling Izuku off the ground, Anima repeated himself.

"Try it again."

"Yes, Anima-sensei!" On his feet, Izuku utilized his chi to block the incoming fist against his stomach. The impact had a sharp, but soft sound like wood, instead of the normal smack. The green haired boy stumbled but stayed on his feet. There was a small red spot just above his navel, but it wouldn't even bruise like it would if he didn't use his chi. This was one of the ways Izuku was using the mystic art, reinforcement. By using his life force as a barrier, his body would become more durable along with having his physical abilities boosted. Reinforcing his joints made landing less painful while using the technique on his eyes made them able to pick up more details, and so on. If he got better at it, even what he was holding could be made stronger. It was one of four skills he was learning. His awareness chi was horrid, as while Anima could sense anything twenty-five meters around him, he could barely sense three feet in front of himself unless it had its own presence. What he excelled at was projecting his chi. When Anima or Jesse projected it felt like a pack of beasts was at his throat, even if they were far away. His aura was more protective one, as it comforted and warmed everyone, according to anyone he used it on.

"Stance, reinforce" the command was given, and Izuku braced for a strike at his sternum. The impact made the dull thud and low pain that told him it worked.

"That's enough for today. Train with combining your quirk and chi until I get the large bath ready." Izuku nodded and tried to regulate his chi. This was his fourth chi training; regulating his life force to control every involuntary body function from breathing and heart rate to blood pressure. Right now he was calming his body and dropping his temperature. While there was a lot more that chi could do, Anima wanted him to master the basics before moving on. Mixing chi and One For All was easy for reinforcement, but not for anything else. He could use 6% of his quirk's power safely; any higher and he'll cause damage to himself. While it didn't sound like much, it was more than enough to brace a heavy vehicle for a long while. After integrating his quirk and chi together, he still had to be careful. It was like mixing the image of the two powers: fire and lighting.

"It's ready, Izuku-san." Those three words filled the teen's heart with joy. Unlike his house, the Cacciatores had a bath big enough for a family. Rinsing off, he found that there was a set of clothes in the hamper. Thinking that Anima had gone in beforehand, Izuku opened the shoji door to find blond hair unlike the black of the werewolf.

"Yagi-sensei?" he inquired.

"Yeah, it's me, my boy. Anima was kind enough to let me join you two while he made something for the occasion." the hero's voice sounded so much more relaxed than it usually did. Anima and Jesse used herbs to ease soreness on occasion, and by the fragrance, they did it for Toshinori and him. Stepping into the bath, Izuku felt his muscles expand and loosen. His mind was getting fuzzy as his teacher broke the silence.

"You don't seem uncomfortable around me." Izuku looked straight at his second teacher.

"Why would I be?" he didn't know why he wouldn't. Although he was All Might, and he looked up to him immensely, he was still a person. Being jittery all the time would have made learning from him even harder than now.

"Most people would stare at these" he pointed to his large scar. The inheritor of One For All smiled.

"It's not the worst scar I've seen. The largest, but not the worst." before Toshinori could ask, the door slid open to reveal Anima with a boat tray in his hands filled with many snack foods and three pairs of chopsticks. Toshinori knew what Izuku meant. Anima had barely noticeable scars all over himself. There was a set of claw marks, a few old punctures here and there, and a straight line down his left thigh, along with many fainter ones. His largest and most prominent scar was the palm sized twisted starburst scar over his heart. Catching a glimpse of his back showed he had a matching one on his back. 'Worse scars indeed' he pondered. As Anima placed the boat of snacks in the water, he sank to his shoulders in the steaming water.

"Today, we celebrate. For the next few days, Izuku-san will only do basic exercises." The boy in question was shocked that Anima was telling him to slow down. The entrance exam was… a few days from now. Without noticing it, Izuku had gone to school, been tutored by Jesse, and worked out for several hours of quirk and martial arts training while keeping a steady diet for nine whole months. The exhaustion seemed to catch up to him as he melted into the water.

"Let's hope I pass. I still have the bet with Kaachan."

"Oh?" Anima perked up a little. "And what, pray tell, was this bet about?" his wolfish grin made Izuku turn sheepish.

"Whoever had a higher score on the entrance exam had the loser treat him to their favorite food. It was stupid, but he roped me in." the small grin he wore made the last sentence moot. His teachers smiled while the same thought coursed through their heads. 'Boys will be boys'.

"Who was your friendly rival, _All Might-san_?" The master martial artist teased.

"Tale for a tale?" he asked. After a nod, he continued. "Endeavor. He and I have butted heads over the smallest things. He's still at it, but he's calmed down after marrying." Izuku was in awe. The top two heroes were, and by the sound, still are, rivals like him and Katsuki. Toshinori glanced at Anima, and the wolf took a breath.

"Colter Wensfield. He and I had an odd relationship. He challenged me to a fight every other week or so, never won, by the way, then he and I would play games 'till the next day. He moved into government work while I went to be a hero and martial artist."

"What was his job, detective?" Toshinori asked. Anima laughed.

"God no, he'd die of boredom. He was an undercover cop for the Maggia. Drove their boss into a paranoid corner. He was actually glad the SWAT team came to get him, and he filed a stalker report. Sent me a picture of his face." Izuku snorted. He heard of some of Colt's antics, including the "unsanctioned art" under a bridge when he was a teenager. Knowing the other stories made for a clear image of how he did it. A hint here, a piece of evidence there, and he could get almost anyone paranoid.

Toshinori was having a harder time imagining a mob boss begging to be arrested. Talk evolved from there. Many hero stories were passed around while snacks were devoured. When they got out, Toshinori asked for the herbal remedy he used in the bath Anima gave him a small note. Izuku decided to spend the night, so a call to mom later and he crashed on the spare futon. In five days, he was going to enter UA for the Entrance Exam.

* * *

It's me again! While I was going to put the exam itself in here, I saw that I was nine pages in. I know what you're thinking, Chi is like haki from one piece. Well, sorta. The most basic form of chi is like Haki, but advanced forms are more magical. Izuku is more calm than canon for two reasons. One, read last author's notes; two, I can't write excited dialogue easily (makes me wonder why I decided on this anime series as a starting point). Next chapter UA! Which of the two will score more points? Till next time.


	5. The Exams

Standing in front of UA, Izuku was nervous. He had been training with One For All and chi for as long as he could, and he knew he could get in if he played his cards right. Katsuki had barreled past.

"Get your ass in gear, Deku!" he charged at the building ahead. Izuku always admired that zeal. Taking a deep breath, he took a step towards the most prodigious hero school…

And tripped on the curb.

'The hell kind of luck is this!' he screamed in his head. Suddenly he felt a tap and then the sensation of weightlessness.

"Sorry about using my quirk, but I thought it would be bad luck falling!" came a cheerful voice. After being put down, he saw the girl who helped her.

"T-thank you very much." he gave a bow. Her bright smile made it mildly difficult to look at her, but the boy managed. Seeing the undertone of nervousness of his helper, Izuku gave a shy smile and projected his chi a bit to help ease her. The undertone edged away, and she gave a thumbs up.

"Good luck on the exam!" her bubbly voice calmed his nerves in return.

"You too." going to the auditorium, Izuku found a seat near the back. His worry he couldn't hear the announcer was wiped away when President Mic stepped up to the podium.

"HELLO EVERYBODY!" several students winced at his volume and two cheered the proctor who took the mic away from the man.

"Ah well! Welcome to the UA Entrance Exam! Can I get a 'Hell Yeah?" Izuku indulged the hyper vocal hero.

"I like you kid!" he praised before continuing the explanation of the exam. On the subject of the physical exam, Izuku was thinking about how to earn points effectively when someone spoke up.

"Sir, you said there are three types to earn points from, but there are four robots in the manuals. And you!" he pointed at Izuku. "Quit mumbling, it's distracting everyone around you!" Looking embarrassed Izuku put his thoughts on hold. Bringing attention back to the podium, President Mic continued.

"Good question examinee 7111! The fourth robot isn't worth any points; it's called the Faux Villain! That's all of the exams out of the way, so before you go, how 'bout a "Plus Ultra"!?" this time Izuku wasn't alone in cheering for him. Katsuki found Izuku and came to talk.

"What block got stuck with you?" the blond asked his former classmate.

"Block C, you?"

"Block E. Damn, I wanted to crush you in the same place. Don't lag, Deku." Holding out a fist, Katsuki and Izuku fist bumped and left for their respective fields.

* * *

Finding the student that called him out on his bad habit in the auditorium, Izuku gave a small bow.

"Sorry for mumbling during the lecture, It's a bad habit of mine to do when I'm nervous." The boy with engine legs gave him a look and bowed in response.

"I'm sorry as well. You weren't the only one nervous, and I took it out on you." after the brief exchange, President Mic shouted from the main building.

"AAANNND START!" everyone looked at his position.

"HEROES DON'T GET WARNINGS, SO GET GOING!" no one needed a prompt after that. Izuku jumped over to the top of a small building to get a view while everyone else just ran in. ' _you always try to look before acting, and that's good. Running in blind rewards you with nothing but trouble_ ' Anima's words ran through the back of his mind as he was picking off the ranged villains on the rooftops. Every now and then, someone would get pinned by the bb fire they shot, and he'd throw a rock to make them target him. He never got a point for doing so, but helping another was reason enough.

'five, there were only five two pointers on the roofs' he sighed. Then came the call for the two-minute mark. Towering over the surrounding structures was a robot with a '0' on its body. When everybody else ran, the Martial artist caught a glimpse of someone.

It was the girl that helped him at the entrance, stuck under some rubble. Her quirk seemed to be erasing gravity of objects she touched, and there was more on top to weigh it down preventing her from freeing herself. Without a thought, Izuku ran towards her. When she saw him running her way with worry nothing but worry on his face, she was reminded of the hero stories she read.

The largest piece of rubble was easy for him to move as he kicked it off of the girl. The Faux Villain came to strike, but Izuku just took a stance. Hopefully, she would be able to get out of there if he bought a minute of time. While infusing his chi into his legs to anchor himself, he reinforced his arms to protect them. The strike felt like a truck, and he couldn't stop all of its momentum; redirecting that momentum, however, was a lot less effort. The steel appendage skid past the two. The girl looked at her savior as he glanced at her.

"I'll hold it for a bit, you get going" Izuku's calming aura filled the small space with warmth. Her next words, however, told him his initial plan wasn't going to work.

"My ankle feels like it's twisted. I-I don't think I can run." Izuku swore in his mind. He couldn't out run the colossal steel monster while making sure she wasn't getting more hurt by his speed. The option to destroy the Faux Villain looked like the most appealing option at the moment. Charging his body with One For All and bracing himself with chi, the green haired boy ran at the robot. Getting airborne wasn't hard, and the next thing he knew, Izuku was right in the robot's face.

His ax kick smashed the robot into the false building behind it as it's front crumpled like paper under the blow. Noting that he didn't gauge the power correctly, he felt the tear in his calf as he came closer to the ground. Finding it a little hard not panicking made him miss the girl he saved slap his face to erase his gravity. Hovering only a foot off the ground, his panic seemed justified in his opinion.

"Release." the words held no meaning to him, but by his gravity returning made him guess that she gave her quirk the command to let go. He gave a grateful smile as he started to limp up.

"I'm glad you're okay. Now then-"His mind went blank at Mic's words.

"TIME! THAT'S ALL FOLKS! GO ON HOME WHILE WE TALLY UP YOUR POINTS!" Izuku felt distraught. As Recovery Girl made her rounds, she came across him.

"Where are you hurt, dear?" the teen looked at her.

"Oh, I think I hurt my calf with the kick, but it's not bad." as everyone gathered, they saw the look on his face. Healing the wound was simple enough, and the girl he saved looked at him in worry.

"What's wrong?" it was a simple question, but it hurt to say it.

"I only got ten points. It takes twenty or more to get in." the crowd hears it, and someone spoke up.

"Bullshit!" it was a kid with spiky red hair and sharp teeth. "Total bullshit! You helped me get out of a bad spot not five minutes ago! I'll try and help if I can dude." the words touched him. Izuku had helped people before, but he hardly got thanks for it. It was a pleasant feeling. A boy with six webbed arms chimed in as well.

"You too? A three pointer cornered me before he knocked a leg off. I'll chip in as well." then came a blond haired kid with a metal belt.

"Non non! Not acceptable. If he helped me, then I should do the same, no?"

"For someone to help others is what it means to be a hero, to not reward him for such acts would be a shame." the straight laced boy put his two cents in as well. Izuku didn't know what to do. Anima never told him how nice it felt to be recognized, as he said there was no way to describe it. A small line of tears trailed his face as he smiled.

"Thank you, everyone." His chi projected and everyone felt it. While he wasn't sure if he could make it in, at least there would be more people cheering him on.

* * *

A week had passed, and the letter was supposed to come in today. Inko ran into the living room.

"I-I-It's here!" she was holding a package that was from UA. Quickly taking it, Izuku ran to his room. Opening it, there was a small disc. A hologram appeared from it with All Might on screen.

" **Hello, young Midoriya! Now you may be wondering what I am doing in this recording, and the reason is that I will be teaching at UA! HAHAHAHA!** " someone came from offscreen to tell him something.

" **Hm? All right. Now as for your results! Being the top student in the written exam is quite impressive, but getting ten points in the physical won't get you in.** " Izuku looked down at the desk in shame.

" **But!** " the hero continued. " **Beating up the villain isn't the only thing that makes a hero! Here, watch this.** " the video cut to the brown haired girl he helped.

"Um…" she spoke to President Mic. "there was this boy, he had freckles and curly green hair" Izuku was curious why she was mentioning him.

"Could you give him some of my points to help him pass?" Izuku was shocked, and the video cut again to the red haired kid with pointed teeth.

"Hey, there was this green haired kid who kicked the Faux Villain across the field. he helped me out, so could you give him a couple of my points?" the video changed to the six armed boy.

"Hey, Did you see the kid who helped me? He didn't get enough villain points to pass, so I'd like to give him a few of mine." The blond boy with the belt and the one with glasses asked the same thing for him. Izuku was crying in joy that so many people wanted to help him, he couldn't see the video though his watery vision.

" **To inspire that many people to help is impressive, and while we can't give you their points, it wasn't needed. For your actions, you have been awarded 67 rescue points, bringing your final score to 77! This means that you tie for first place in the physical! With the top score in the written portion, you scored first place in the school! Congratulations, young Midoriya; this is your Hero Academia!** " the video turned off, leaving Izuku alone in his room. He walked to his mother, still crying.

"I came in first…" were the only words he could get out. Inko grabbed her son, crying in joy for him as well. She then called Anima and Toshinori to give them the good news. Toshinori, Anima, and Jesse called them over to celebrate at the Cacciatore house. Anima asked that the teen bring the video if he could, and started to make Izuku's favorite food.

* * *

"You tied for first? Who else got that many points?" Anima was not surprised that there was such thing as hero points, and that the bulk of Izuku's points came from them. To turn someone away from a hero school because they helped another would be hypocritical. Izuku passing because of them was probably due to his hero complex.

"Dunno, but I think this means I won the bet with Kachan" the adults laughed. Toshinori was busy, so he only dropped by to congratulate Izuku before leaving. Jesse was filling out paperwork on a transfer of some kind but remained in the room to join the celebration. Izuku got gifts from the Cacciatores. Jesse gave him steel toe red combat shoes like his normal ones. They fit very well and were designed for comfort and durability for his training and hero work. Anima had a friend make him a rebreather he could put in his costume for when he needed independent oxygen. His mother had made a green jumpsuit for his costume that fit very well.

After smiles and thanks, Izuku put the video on for the group to watch. Inko was freaking out that All Might was going to teach while the werewolves focused on different parts. Jesse was proud her tutoring student had gotten the top score in the written exam and Anima laughed that he only got ten villain points.

When the video's of other participants willing to give him some of their points came up, the room was quiet. Inko had a similar reaction to her son while Anima gave his student a light punch to the shoulder. Jesse had a smile on her face because he may gain friends his age. After it was well after dark the festivities finally stopped. Next week was Izuku's first day at UA.

* * *

At the front door to the Bakugo house, Izuku was waiting for his rival. Mitsuki was the one to answer it.

"Midoriya-kun? How've you been?" she asked him.

"I've been doing great, Bakugo-san. Is Kaachan here?" an angry voice came from upstairs.

"Is it Fucking Deku!? Tell him I won the goddamn bet!" Izuku chuckled while his mother shouted about her son's language. 'Kaachan never changes' he thought as he called to the explosive teen.

"It's me Kaachan, but I don't think you won!" at his words, Katsuki barreled down the steps of the house.

"Bullshit!" he bellowed. "I got fucking first in the physical and fifth in the written. There's no fucking way that you beat me!" After a smack on his head courtesy of his mother, Izuku realized something and gave a knowing smirk.

"You _tied_ for first in the physical." those words made the blond teen freeze.

"You're shitting me!?" The martial artist shook his head.

"10 villain points and 67 rescue points on the physical with top scores on the written exam." Katsuki went on a ten-minute rant that "rescue points were bullshit!" and "training didn't mean fucking good written test scores!" topping it off with an oh-so-eloquent "fucking bullshit and fuck you!". Losing steam, Katsuki told him where he was treating the winner and not to be late. Leaving after his tirade, Mitsuki shook her head.

"I don't know how you can calmly put up with him, but thank you for staying with him." she sighed in resignation. Izuku gave a small smile.

"Kaachan tackles everything head on with that passion. I think he's calmed down after the incident though." the boy's mother laughed at the memory.

"He threw his already patchy language filter away when he came home after the visit." Izuku smiled at the image. "Stay safe, Midoriya-kun"

"Thank you, I will." Izuku left the Bakugo residence. Next week, he was going to be a hero in training, and he couldn't wait.

* * *

I'm back! The bet between Izuku and Katsuki was decided, and our hero won! I added Kirishima to the block Izuku was in because his attitude wouldn't let him just watch as someone who was acting the hero didn't pass, and his words set a chain reaction for others to help. It's easier to do something if you're not alone doing it. As for Izuku kicking instead of punching like in canon, the reason is simple; Anima saw that his student was more comfortable with kicking styles like savat and taekwondo, and helped him make kicks the focus of the Bahou lujing. Other than that, there isn't much worth noting, so I'll speak to you next chapter. See ya then!


	6. New Day, New Trails

"Did you forget your handkerchief? What about your books? Did you-"

"I'm fine mom! I'm going to be late!" Izuku was trying not to brush his mother off, but her worrying wasn't necessary as he had packed and repacked his school bag last night… four times.

"I'm sorry, but I'm so proud of you! Go on now, my little hero-in-training." Inko let him go after a kiss and Izuku bolted for the train station. Once he got on the train, the realization struck. 'I really am a hero in training now, aren't I?' Izuku couldn't remember a time when he didn't want to be a hero like on T.V. and now he was going to be formally educated on how to do it. Yes, Anima had trained him to be a hero as best he could, but there was only so much you could learn from martial arts. Walking to the board at school that would tell him which class he was in, he saw the brunette from the entrance exam. It looked like she saw him too as she waved.

'I really am a hero in training now, aren't I?' Izuku couldn't remember a time when he didn't want to be a hero like on T.V. and now he was going to be formally educated on how to do it. Yes, Anima had trained him to be a hero as best he could, but there was only so much you could learn from martial arts. Walking to the board at school that would tell him which class he was in, he saw the brunette from the entrance exam. It looked like she saw him too as she waved.

"Hey, it's you! I'm glad you got in as well!" giving a shy nod to her enthusiasm Izuku gave a glance at the board.

"It looks like I'm in class 1-A, you?" her bouncing made him guess that she was a classmate.

"Me too, let's go!" without giving a response, the green haired teen was being dragged by his sleeve to class. Coming close he heard two familiar voices.

"And I said shut the fuck up unless you want me to blow up your fucking face!"

"You dare threaten a student!?" Izuku went in the room to break up the fight.

"Ah, it's you!" he called to the teen in glasses, he also greeted the ones he saw in the video. He took a bow.

"They showed me what you all tried to do after the exams. Thank you for trying so hard to help me!" they smiled at him.

"Don't sweat it, dude. What you did was too manly not to let you in. I'm Eijiro Kirishima, by the way." the redhead told him. The others spoke the same sentiments and introduced themselves as well.

"My name's Midoriya Izuku; I hope we get along-" a voice cut him off.

"Get to your seats. If you are here to socialize, go home." a man in a yellow sleeping bag dropped from the ceiling. As everyone did as he said, Izuku noticed the hero teaching and felt sorry he had to teach what appeared to be right after work.

"My name is Aizawa Shouta, and while there's supposed to be a small speech for me to give, screw it. Get your gym clothes and meet me at the courtyard outside." everyone was confused at his statement, but followed his instructions anyway.

* * *

Outside, everyone was gathering around.

"Today, we'll be doing a quirk evaluation exercise." the teacher spoke in a dead voice.

"Sensei, didn't we have an evaluation as the entrance exam?" Tenya spoke up. Shouta Ignored him and turned to Katsuki.

"You're my demonstration." he threw a softball at the blond. "How far was your softball throw in middle school?"

"67 meters, why?" Katsuki asked with a glint in his eye.

"This time use your quirk. As long as you don't step outside the circle, use whatever means you want." At Aizawa's words, the explosive blond gained a disturbing smile. He took a stance and started to throw-

"DIE!" using the shockwave as a propellant he launched the ball far away. The ball stopped on the other side of the field.

"Before anything else, one must know what they are capable of. This will be your basic hero foundation." Showing his score of 705.2 meters, Aizawa gave his reasoning. The class started thinking it would be fun to see their limits until Aizawa shot them down with his counter proposal of expelling the student that ranked last.

Izuku was in the top five, so he was sure he wasn't getting expelled. Using both One For All and reinforcement chi was becoming routine for him, and they made most of his tests a breeze. Side hops were where he was lacking, but he made up for it in the grip strength (though Shoji bested him by a good hundred kilos). When it came to the softball throw he felt the lightning in one for all fade and only his reinforcement helped, making his score of 95 instead of his middle school record of 65.

"Oh? Is your quirk a mutation, cause I thought I erased it." Izuku looked to his teacher in puzzlement.

"Only part of it functions like a quirk, the other one is governed by other limits. Why erase it though?" As the words fell from the martial artist, Bakugo stowed those words away to ask his rival later. Izuku didn't have a quirk as far as he knew, so why would he be affected at all, unless something happened during his martial arts training he didn't know about.

"Why are you holding back?" Aizawa, no, Eraserhead asked Izuku. "Is it that you want to hide it, or do you think you can get by half assing it?"

"Neither. My quirk manifested a little under a year ago, so my body isn't responding use to it. Using more than I am currently causes damage to me. Even kicking the faux villain in the exam tore a calf muscle because I overshot my limit." The class, Katsuki included, was shocked. Quirks manifested at age 3-5, not 14. Taking his words at face value meant that he only had ten months to get used to what most people had spent their lives dealing with. While many found it hard to believe, those that did were impressed that he made it in first while not working at 100%. Aizawa appraised him and found that his student was telling the truth. Unbeknownst to everyone, Izuku was only telling a half truth while stretching the time frame; his quirk did manifest, only that was due to him inheriting his power.

"Fine. but this time, show me something grand." Izuku nodded and decided to go the whole way. As he was using chi, he started his momentum…

"ORYAAA!" only to put 100% of his quirk in the tip of his finger at the last instant. The meter showed an astonishing 725.8 meters. Clenching his hand, Izuku turned to his homeroom teacher.

"Was that grand enough?" he grinned. Aizawa gave a slow clap and gave the green haired teen a smirk.

"Alright then, Everyone return to class. As for the expulsion rule, I changed my mind." The class went ballistic at those words.

* * *

At the end of school, Katsuki dragged Izuku off to the corner.

"Alright, spill. How the fuck did it happen?" Despite his choice of words, the blond hadn't raised his voice. Izuku gave the reason Anima and All might Came up with.

"While it isn't nearly as common as it used to be, Anima-sensei found that some quirks manifest during the stress of teenage years or dangerous situations. It came just after the incident with the villain we got involved in, so we were guessing danger triggered it." It was when quirk users were called 'metahumans' instead. Anima remembered a friend that suddenly controlled fire when he turned sixteen along with another guy getting a hardening ability when he was hit by a truck. Until that point, neither showed any signs of 'metahuman abilities', and while it was very rare nowadays, there were a couple of cases where a scenario like they were trying to tell happened to others.

"The hell? Ah fuck it, just get used to it already. I wanna kick your ass at your best." As much as it seemed odd to him, Katsuki just didn't care enough to push further. Going their separate ways, Ochaco and Tenya joined him in his walk off campus. When asked, Izuku explained his new quirk as he did with his rival.

"They used to work like that? It is an interesting thing, the time quirks were being discovered. Do you know anyone else that had a similar gain?" Tenya seemed to be just a straight forward guy and after the bad first impression, he was easy to talk to.

"My sensei, Anima Cacciatore, had a basic enhancement mutation at first; he was fast, strong, durable, and healed really fast. When he turned fifteen though, his quirk gained a new set of abilities; apparently, this happened again when he turned twenty. Jesse-san, Anima-sensei's wife, had a similar experience." Tenya took this information in and started to think of a reason quirks would come in so late when Ochaco pointed something else out.

"Anima-sensei? Which course does he teach?" realizing her confusion, Izuku explained.

"Ah, Anima-sensei doesn't teach at a school. We met when I was six, and he decided to help me be a hero ever since by teaching me everything I know about martial arts. He helped me make the Bahou Lujing." this caused a series of more questions about his path and the styles he's learned to make it. Tenya chimed in a thought.

"He sounds like a hero, is he someone we'd know?" Izuku pondered for a moment.

"He's retired and he was from the states, so I don't think so. His hero name was Fiara." Both Izuku's companions were drawing blanks.

"Hey, on a different note, why don't we give each other our phone numbers so we can meet up sometime after school?" Ochaco changed the subject. Izuku didn't know how to answer so Tenya spoke up instead.

"That's a fantastic idea, Uraraka-san!" Izuku gave a small nod and they pulled their phones out. After completing that, Izuku had to get on a different train and waved them as he left. 'Today wasn't so bad' he told himself. 'Maybe tomorrow will be just as good… sans the threat of expulsion,' he corrected himself.

* * *

" **HERE I AM…** " The class was already buzzing with rumors, and now they found them true as the number one hero came through the door.

" **COMING THROUGH THE DOOR LIKE A NORMAL PERSON!** " even his cheesy line managed to hype the class up.

" **Hello, class! As you may know, I am All Might, and I'll be teaching foundational hero studies for your time at the school here! Now then, as your hero costumes were finished, I want you to don them and come to ground beta!** " Everyone took their costumes to the changing room to get ready. Izuku's suit had a base green overtone with darker shades in the highlights. His mother had made his suit from durable materials. There was padding on his shoulders and elbows to protect his joints when he struck. There were black sturdy plastics that acted as shin guards and dark metal knee pads that emphasized his kicking style, but he still wore mildly padded gloves. The back of the suit also had segmented plastic plates to protect his spine without losing any movement. The rebreather and steel toe red combat shoes were also part of the costume. While his costume design may be changed later on, the suit from his mother, the shoes from Jesse, and the rebreather from Anima were always going to be constants that reminded him one thing; while he forged the path of the protector, he was never alone with family having his back. Coming out of the changing room Izuku saw everyone else's costumes.

"Green is a good pallet choice for you." Tokoyami gave Izuku his opinion. All Might started explaining the exercise; a glorified capture the flag with prop missiles as the flag. Villains protect the bomb and won if the timer ran out while heroes were supposed to grab it. Dividing the teams randomly made sense when you thought about it, as you hardly ever knew what assistance you'd be provided in a real scenario. After pairing up, The roles of heroes and villains were given. Izuku and Ochaco were heroes facing off against Tenya and Katsuki as the villains.

* * *

"You know Midoriya-san more than me, so do you have any advice?" Katsuki was grating on Tenya's nerve, and vice versa, but they both wanted to win.

"Deku's skilled and his fighting style is mainly kick oriented. Wolf Grin taught him a shit-ton of different styles for him to make his own, so don't get fucking close if you can! The fucker also has good planning skills, so be prepared for a fucking off kilter scheme!" Despite the language, Tenya heard the respect Katsuki had for Izuku.

"Any idea what he'll think of?" Tenya asked.

"No fucking clue; it's Deku." Outside the building, the heroes were having their own battle plan.

"Kachan isn't good at strategy but he and Iida-san are fighters, so we don't want to have one break out. If we treat this like the real scenario All might described, getting to the bomb unimpeded is a better option." Looking around, he remembered that no one was told that you couldn't leave the building, so he made a plan. Ochaco was taking this in and giving advice on things she could help with. When the timer started, they started moving.

* * *

"What are they doing?" Shoji voiced his confusion from the observation room. Izuku and Ochaco didn't go in the building with the bomb, but the one right next to it.

"Maybe they're trying to cause confusion?" Denki tried to reason.

"They may be trying to get in the building the target is in by using a non-conventional route." Momo voiced her thoughts. True to her words, when they reached the roof of the structure they entered, Ochaco tapped their clothes and got on Izuku's back. Jumping from the roof to the building with the bomb, They started down the steps.

* * *

At the two minute mark, Katsuki knew something was up.

"Shit! They may have decided to climb the fucking building! Stay here while I check the floor above!" Tenya looked at his partner and gave a nod. At that moment, the hero team blew a hole in the ceiling on the far side of the room. Rocks came flying out before the dust cleared, catching the villain team flat footed.

"FUCKING DIE, DEKU!" Katsuki bellowed as he blew up vast amounts of the rubble ammunition. When the dust no longer hid them, The explosion quirk user charged Izuku while Tenya tried for Ochaco. The gravity girl picked up a large slab of concrete and threw it in between the two teams before releasing it of her quirk. Izuku ran to it and shattered the slab with a kick. Katsuki decided that the terrain wasn't working for them and pulled the pin on his gauntlet. The roar of the nitroglycerin blew most of what wasn't secured out through the wall, missing everyone. Tenya subdued Ochaco by pinning her to the ground to ensure she couldn't continue.

" **HERO TEAM WINS!** " Turning around almost instantly at those words revealed Izuku holding the paper mache Missile.

"You used the slab round face threw as fucking cover to slip past!" Katsuki shouted.

"Although I wish I won, that was an excellent strategy. Nicely done, Midoriya-san, Uraraka-san." Tenya congratulated them while releasing Ochaco.

"It was still a gamble. If you or Kachan saw me, then I wouldn't have been able to do much. Uraraka-san, Thank you for the distraction." He bowed.

"No Problem! With how much rubble I had to work with, I could have held them off longer if it wasn't for bakugo-kun's awesome attack!" the talk devolved into a discussion of how they each performed and the flaws they saw in each other. After a discussion with their classmates when they got back, everyone else had their matches.

* * *

Hey everyone! Now the first two days at UA have been explored. Katsuki's reactions were more subdued mainly because he had Izuku as a rival to ground him, so he's not _as_ arrogant. The same thing happened during the team trials during hero studies; knowing that Izuku uses his head, he tried to figure out what he was planning on what he knew about him. He's also lost a couple times to Izuku, so while he's still a sore loser he knows how to deal with it and let it help him improve. That's all I wanted to get out of the way, so until next chapter!


	7. A substitute?

Hello, everyone! as much as I hate to say this, my upload speed will take a drop after this chapter. I started uploading after I had made chapter five, and I made a couple chapters after that, but I have caught up you guys to where I am. In all honesty, when I feel the chapter is done, I'll put it up here. Until next Time!

* * *

All Might screwed up. There was a villain with a powerful quirk that was giving the other heroes trouble that he helped with. After eating up the hero's time in his muscle form, he started to emanate steam. Managing to get away from the crowd and press fast enough, he knew he couldn't teach the class.

"Think Toshinori. Who could teach in your, OH!" thinking quick, he pulled his phone and called principle Nezdu.

"Hello, this is Nezdu of UA, How may I help you?" the animal answered.

"Sir, it's All Might. I overused my hero form, so I don't think I can come to work." there was a sigh on the other line.

"I can't get a substitute on this short of a notice, Toshi. It'll have to be a self-study class." Toshinori took a breath.

"I do know of someone you can call, and I'm sure he would come in." there was a grunt (or was it a squeak?) of interest at the words.

"I think he'd ask why you couldn't be there, but If you're comfortable telling-" Toshinori stopped his inquiry.

"He already knows and doesn't care about my circumstances. I'll give you his number, just tell him 'Toshinori screwed up' and give him some free reign. He knows how to be a hero." The living skeleton explained.

"I'll give it a shot," Nezdu assured his friend. "What's his name?"

"Anima Cacciatore."

* * *

The werewolf was irritated. Those words didn't do him justice.

"Dammit. I've neither a teaching nor hero license Toshinori. Well, let's hope I'm not liable if they hurt themselves." he tried to reason. His lovely wife was coming from her office room with her bag for work.

"I have to go to work. I love you, mi caballero." she leaned in for a quick kiss and he returned it. Both headed out the door. When Jesse saw that Anima was still going the same way, she got curious.

"Are you walking me to work today?" the she-wolf asked. Her spouse took her hand.

"Yes I am, la mia Tempesta, but I'm also going to be substituting for 1-A's foundational hero teacher." Jesse looked at him like he had told her he was turning to pacifism, then started giggling.

"You, are teaching a class of teenagers?"

"For today yes. I was thinking of a hostage simulation if the principal would let me." Jesse lost it. Laughing hard enough that she had to lean on him to continue the walk, he gave a dry look.

"I've shown heroes how to work properly. Why do you think I can't?" Anima asked his hysterical wife. She started to calm down.

"It's not the fact you're training heroes, but the fact you haven't been in a proper classroom since you were out of high school. You haven't even seen how much paperwork a teacher has to do," she explained herself. She was imagining Anima getting annoyed and torching the papers.

"They called me on Mighty Pant's request, so I'm just leaving the paperwork to him. Skeleton or no, he's got the strength to write." the martial artist held no shame in his tone. If Toshinori can't see his students, then he can sure as hell grade their work for the one he dumped them on. Jesse had started laughing again at his blatant use of his surprise position. When they found themselves a few blocks away from campus, they heard the familiar buzz of reporters. After a drone dropped off Anima's ID, he decided to have used an 'alternate entrance'. Jesse gave a small yelp when her lover scooped her up in a bridal carry.

"You aren't thinking of…" she didn't get to finish as the werewolf started running faster than a racecar.

"I hate the press" was the only answer Anima gave as he sped towards the wall that had no door.

"nonononoNO! Jodido infierno lobo rabioso! ¡Deneter!" she quickly voiced her opinion at her spouse's antics as he jumped over the wall. Landing in school grounds, Anima his wife down with a kiss on her hand and was rewarded with a smack to the head.

"I have never dropped you when I run like that." he defended himself.

"I'm not upset you do that, but you hardly warn me!" She quietly shouted indignantly.

"Have a wonderful day, la mia Tempesta." Anima didn't react to her accusations. with a kiss on her cheek, she seemed to calm down.

"Your class doesn't know I exist. Fix that and I'll forgive your little stunt. Be safe, mi Caballero." she returned the gesture.

* * *

The class of 1-A was excited about the next lesson. The excitement from the false alarm and choosing of Tenya as class president had been eroded for the next foundational hero study lesson.

"All Might already had us show how we fought indoors, what d'you think he'll give us next?" Toru asked Mashirao.

"No clue, but I'm sure it'll be fun." the talking quieted down when the class door opened. Instead of the colossal blond hero they were expecting, there was a not-as-tall but still large tan skinned man. His short black hair was in a simple style and he wore a red dress shirt under a dark violet suit with a red tie. When he turned his face towards the class he revealed his almost glowing yellow eyes.

"Good afternoon class, my name is Anima Cacciatore and I will be substituting for All might for today, if not at later times. If I sound blunt, that's because I am and not because I'm trying to be rude. I will start with role call and we will work from there." when the man made his rounds, most students were confused as to who the substitute was.

"Bakugou Katsuki." at those words, the explosive teen shouted at him.

"The fuck are you doing here, Wolf Grin!? I thought you didn't want to teach multiple students!" the class froze. No matter the circumstances, He just cursed out a teacher, and one that used to or still was a hero. Anima turned to him calmly and answered in a neutral tone.

"All Might called in a small favor, and I don't mind teaching multiple students; I didn't want to teach you at that time because of your disposition. Next on the list; Midoriya Izuku." everyone was shocked at his blunt answer and uncaring attitude of Katsuki's language.

"Here, Anima-sensei," he answered with respect. Everyone was curious about the relationship between the three and after he called Momo last, Tsuyu asked.

"Sensei, what's the relationship between Izuku and Bakugo?" It seemed fitting that her blunt nature got an equally blunt response.

"I've trained Izuku-san for nine years in martial arts and Bakugo had disagreements about me teaching Izuku-san and not someone with a strong quirk. I'm glad you mellowed out over the years, by the way." Anima aimed the last sentence at Katsuki. Ashido chimed in her curiosity as well.

"How do you know All Might and where is he?" The sub took a breath.

"He and I met and got to know each other over similar interests a little under a year ago. As for where he is, I've got no idea; being the top hero has its downsides, so he may have other things he has to do. Now then-"

"What's your hero name?" Eijiro interrupted. Looking like he was about to kill for a second, Anima projected his aura to put everyone on edge.

"Fiara. Now are there any more questions before I continue?" there was no one who dared. Cutting his projection suddenly, the werewolf started again.

"Before the lesson, I found out that no one here was told of the freshman school therapist." everyone looked around. They didn't even think that UA would think a therapist was needed.

"She resides one door to the right of the nurse's office, and if you need to talk to someone for help, she will do her best to help you. Being a teenager sucks and heroes have very stressful and dangerous jobs; even many pros talk to someone. Her name is Jesse Cacciatore, so see her if you can." the words sank into many of them. Heroes risk their lives almost daily, and in many situations, one screw up loses the life of the hero or a civilian. Getting access to one in training is probably going to help them in the long run.

"Now then onto the lesson of the day. Can anyone guess what the worst scenario for both heroes and villains are? Hagakure-san?"

"Fights" the invisible girl tried.

"Close, but most fights are often the detriment to only one side at a time. Anyone else?" the class went quiet while they started thinking the question over. After a while, Kyoka raised her hand and was called.

"A hostage situation." most of the class didn't get it, but a few had. Anima nodded.

"Exactly! The heroes have their options limited when even a single civilian's life is at risk and everybody knows it, so heroes avoid it if they can. Unsanctioned quirk use, firearm possession, and assault are much less jail time than attempted murder, so villains try not to let it get to that point as well. And of course, that doesn't even include the victim's fear of having their lives in the hands of a criminal that may or may not kill them. No one likes a hostage situation, and no one should." Anima explained, seeing the class start to understand both the hero and villain point of view. The substitute then went on to ask another question.

"Alright, how about the two type of hostage users. Which is more dangerous; a calm criminal that knows what he's doing, or a thug that's got little clue how to hold a gun, let alone a hostage?" Momo's hand shot up.

"The thug. They are less predictable," she answered. Anima smiled.

"Very good! The chance of an accidental misfire alone is much higher with a scared person than a professional. Taking this in mind, there are a few things that you can do to make it less likely to have a harmed civilian." he started writing two lists on the board. One was de-escalation methods while the other was filled with things that would scare them and worsen the situation. Notes were being written down as the students figured that hostages were not a rare occurrence.

"Now that you've got the basic idea, know that many of these also apply to the calm and collected criminal, so try to keep this in mind. Does anyone want to try with the scenario I've given?" the decision was a unanimous yes.

"Suit up then. I'll wait for you at Ground Gamma's watch room.

* * *

The entire class was just outside the watch room when the doors opened by themselves. Anima was nowhere to be found. On a screen, a note was attached. Izuku saw that it was his teacher's handwriting, and read it aloud.

"Your lesson will start when the screens turn on. I will be playing the role of the criminal, and it's your job to save the dummy that I've taken as a hostage and secure the villain with minimal harm. The orange gun I have is a paintball gun with twelve pellets inside. Treat paint marks like bullet wounds, and step out when you get shot. Then there's something in parentheses: If Kirishima hardens, then he gets to take three." the redhead in question fist pumped at the side note. "If you lose and the hostage gets shot, everyone gets to write a paper on the subject. If you win, the rest of the class is free. Good luck! Then there's a Taji on the bottom." Izuku finished. The class started talking about different methods that they could use to deal with it until Momo addressed everyone.

"Cacciatore-sensei has given us all the knowledge of the situation that we need, so let's work together to make sure we win. Midoriya-san, what can you tell us about him, as you've known him the longest." Izuku gave it a moment of thought before answering.

"Anima has heightened senses and is physically stronger, faster, more durable, and he heals very fast." the entire class was shocked to hear how extensive his quirk was, but Izuku kept going. "The way he was talking before indicated he's going to play the 'thug' role this time, so any loud noises will make him shoot." Bakugo started swearing at that.

"He's also wanting this to be a class exercise, so Todoroki-san," the dual haired teen looked at him. "He'll probably shoot the hostage if you try what you did in the team battle, so we'll have to get the gun away from the dummy before you can act. I have a plan, but I need to know everyone's abilities and limits; as Anima-sensei had told me, 'battles are four parts planning and one part carrying the plan out. Chime in if you have an idea." everyone started to listen to the green haired teen as he tried to include everyone's quirk and abilities into a plan.

* * *

"I'm over the target. Is everyone else good?" Mina reported from the earpiece that Momo made for everybody. Rikido helped Mineta, Hanta, and herself up in the rafters above Anima.

"I'm at the fuse box" declared Denki.

"Koji and I are at the entrance" Mezo spoke. They were there to gather information. Everyone else checked in and were in position.

"We're good to go. On your mark, Kirishima." Izuku stated from the watchroom.

* * *

Anima knew where everyone in the building was thanks to his chi and senses. Their positions kept them from eyesight, and thanks to reading about the class prior, they were in the best positions to take care of him in this scenario. Eijiro stepped into the room.

"Hey man, put the gun down," he asked in a soft voice. Anima heard Momo guiding him through the earpiece and gave them a good mental score. Putting the guy who could take a bullet in the situation where he could use it while having someone who knew the words telling him what to say. His teams did the same with him.

"D-don't come a-any closer!" the werewolf played the fool.

"Look, man, you don't want to do this. Let's just talk this out." he took a small step, and Anima pointed the paint gun at him. Hearing the crack of his student's hardening was apparently the signal, as everything happened at once.

Hanta hit his arm with one of Minoru's grape balls attached to his tape and pulled the gun further away. Denki blew the lights to blind him while Fumikage used his dark shadow to grab the dummy. The only thing they had to do left was to subdue the villain. There was an impact from Yuga's navel laser on his shoulder that spun him when Tenya ran from his cover to trip the teacher. He hit the ground only for his arm to be immobilized by Shouto's ice. Mina then came from above and melted his gun to prevent it from firing. All in all, twelve seconds was all it took to deal with the situation. Anima was very pleased.

"Nicely done everyone. Everyone used their abilities to deal with every problem that you were presented with to make the rescue go as smoothly as possible. The next half hour of class is yours." finally being freed from his class' bindings, Anima went to put his suit coat on.

"Let's get back to class." he walked off.

"Damn, he isn't really all that is he?" Eijiro spoke.

"No, he was just going easy on us." Mashirao came from where he hid as backup. Seeing them not understand, he spoke up.

"Look at his belt, none of the rings made a noise." true enough, looking at both of Anima's sides showed a couple dozen metal rings loosely hanging on chains. He turned to look at them, and flicked one to show that they did, in fact, make a metallic ping. No one heard a single chime even as he hit the floor. What they didn't notice was that he had the same type of ring on his hand, and the symbol on the rings were all different.

* * *

Back in the classroom, everyone was chatting amongst themselves. Izuku came up to Anima.

"Jesse-san works here?" he asked, as Anima gave a nod.

"The previous therapist retired, so UA asked for applicants, and she got it." Izuku made a note to visit her later. The talk of the freshman therapist brought the question back in Mina's head.

"She and Cacciatore-sensei have the same last name, are you related?" there was a smile that found its way to the man's face.

"She's my lovely wife." the four words held so much compassion in them that it held no question what his thoughts were about it. The acid quirk user didn't stop there and pushed further.

"How'd you two meet?" Izuku went to his seat, trying not to laugh at the memory of the story. Anima didn't notice.

"I was still in high school at the time, and we met when I was coming home from martial arts practice. She saw me, I saw her, and when she ran off, I chased." The last part turned heads while Izuku was shaking in his chair.

"When I caught up with her at the beach shore, she tackled me into the sand... and stole my first kiss." the class looked even more confused and Izuku was trying to breathe.

"She thought it was fun to have the cute boy chase her?" Toru reasoned.

"That, and it was love at first sight for her, and she didn't know how to react." Kyoka then asked her question.

"Why did you chase her? Love at first sight as well?" Toru and Mina looked hopefully at the chance of the fairy tale meeting.

"Well… no." Anima scratched the back of his head. "She didn't look in the best condition and looked like she needed help. I later found out that she was a runaway from bad circumstances when she was ten." The silence in the room was palatable, and thankfully Izuku broke it.

"Jesse-san remembered it like a fairy tale though." the girls turned to him. "She calls Anima-sensei her 'Caballero', which is Spanish for knight because he helped her back then." the class thought it was sweet.

"What do you call her?" Ochaco asked.

"Mia Tempesta, Italian for 'my Tempest'. She got the nickname after dealing with a group of thugs that were harassing another couple; she was fierce." the smile on his face seemed to brighten at the memory. Soon class was over, and as students were coming out the door, Tenya came up to Anima.

"Will you teach the class again?" The substitute gave a thought and smiled.

"You know what? If All Might has to do something else, I'll substitute him." the class seemed pleased with that.

* * *

It's a lot of fun to write the fluffy scenes with Anima and Jesse. Shout out to Eren Senju's comment on chapter 2; more of the cacciatores are revealed. The class lesson was also fun to write, as I got to use almost everyone in class 1-A's quirks! Anima went very easy on them, but he didn't give them the win; Izuku and Momo are awesome tacticians, so all they had to do was work together and make a plan. The rings that were mentioned have little to do with the plot, but they are a part of Anima's character and past. Any questions, comments, or concerns, tell me! I love hearing other people's opinions. That's all for now, Until next time!


	8. USJ

Classes were continuing for 1-A as normally as they could. A couple had decided to talk with Jesse about some issues and found that just talking about things helped them immensely. Today, Shouta had gathered the class in homeroom.

"Alright class, time for a field trip. Go change into your hero costume or gym clothes and meet me at the bus in the parking lot.." he abruptly told his students. The energy in the class didn't die even when they got to the bus. Inside, their teacher was sitting next to Anima.

"Hey guys, All Might Couldn't make it for the trip, so he sent me to cover for him." the martial arts master explained.

"Magnifique costume, Monsieur." Yuga praised. Anima's hero costume was based off the old Italian uniforms complete with red cape covering his left side from collar to mid back. It had few loose points and was obviously made for movement and comfort. On his sides were a miao dao and a black boKken of similar design.

"Je vous remercie." he responded, surprising his students. He smiled slyly.

"I've had this style for years, but the materials suit my fighting style. The main outfit is made from unstable cloth. Pain in the ass to work with, but it takes certain strains phenomenally." Anima saw his studets confusion and explained. "It can realize the wearer's quirk and focus on staying out of the way. It'd turn invisible when someone like Hagakure-san wore it, or phase with someone else." The class blinked at that.

"Why isn't it more available then?" Toru inquired. Having clothes that turned invisible on her would make it a lot more comfortable in cold than being naked.

"Two main reasons: first is like I just said; you need special tools just to work with the material. The second one is cost, as unstable cloth is hard to make even in small batches, let alone in bulk. There's also the reason that most hero costumes are now made to enhance or cover the downsides of the hero's quirk, and all unstable cloth does is stay out of the way. If you want, I know some manufacturers, but it'll have to come out of your pocket." The bus was starting to move, but the class hardly paid it any attention as conversations bounced around. Eventually, Tsuyu addressed the question on her mind.

"Izuku, your quirk reminds me of All Might's. Are you related?" the bushy-haired teen froze, then started to move erratically.

"What!? Nononono, I'm not! Or, at least I don't think I am." he started muttering about quirk genetics until his oldest teacher spoke up.

"He isn't. Although he would think it's awesome, he and All might are about as different as they can be in almost any area, other than Ideals and quirks." those last words sparked even more conversation and talks about the hero and his student's history. It then went to other people's quirks and eventually, Eijiro talked about how lackluster his quirk was.

"Don't sell yourself short, Kirishima-san. Your quirk is awesome, like a shield to protect everyone!" Izuku tried to convince his friend.

"Thanks, man. It's nice knowing someone thinks so." the redhead smiled.

* * *

When the bus finally stopped, Shouta called the class outside. 1-A found themselves in a large building. There were many parts that looked like amusement parks that were hit with disasters. There was a place that looked like it was on fire, one that had rocks falling from water slides, an area that was in ruins, and more. Outside greeting them were their teachers and a person in a spacesuit. As Izuku's eyes lit up, Katsuki gave a glare.

"Don't you fucking dare-"

"Oh my god, it's the space hero thirteen!" Ochaco had beaten Izuku to the punch. After the class calmed down a little, the space hero began the lecture they prepared. The class took the entire speech seriously. Then there was a black mist in the air.

"The hell? Is this part of the training exercise?" Kirishima asked.

"No," Shouta told them while putting his goggles on. "Those are actual villains." out of the mist came a severed hand, followed by the white head that it was grabbing. His red eyes unnerved many of the students as his pupils darted around the area.

"We were told that All Might was supposed to be here, but it seems he's elsewhere. That's alright; I'm pretty sure the symbol of peace will come running if we manage to kill a couple of his students. Kurogiri, if you would." his voice was hoarse as if he would start coughing at any moment. The black mist had two glowing areas that signified where his eyes were. Upon the order, he spoke his piece.

"Of course, Shigaraki. We are the league of villains, and our goal is to kill the symbol of peace. Don't take it personally." when he finished monologuing, everyone saw dozens if not hundreds of villains appear. When Shouta and Anima saw this, their decision was almost instantaneous.

"Iida-san, crash course when you're at a disadvantage; call for help. If you can't get a cell signal, then run. We are outnumbered so we need to get help to even the odds." Izuku gave a small smirk at Anima's, no, Fiara's actions; even when the situation is dire, he never misses a chance to teach.

"Aizawa-sensei, you're at an even worse disadvantage; this isn't ambush tactics…" Eraserhead gave a look.

"A hero is more than a one trick pony." the erasing hero ran into the fray, and Katsuki used the moment's distraction to get close and attempt to blow up the teleporter.

"That was a bit precarious. Begone" at those words, Kurogiri teleported almost everyone away, save for the group in the center. Looking at the situation, Fiara looked at the Engine quirk user.

"Iida-san, after me, you're the fastest in the group; we'll make an opening, and you run through and get help." Tenya was about to argue until he felt Fiara's chi flow around him.

"Don't argue. The strong point of heroes is teamwork, but we need a team to use it. Inform the staff of the situation as fast as you can." He only received a nod. Thirteen tried to use her quirk only to have a gate open behind her. Luckily, Fiara saw the mist form and shoved his fellow hero out of their own quirks destruction. He lost a portion of his tricep, but the muscles were already reconnecting and he could still fight.

He threw the wooden sword at the man in the mist. Fiara saw it partially teleport up and launched himself to grab the handle and take a swipe at Kurogiri. There was the sound of wood on metal that told everyone the martial artist's strike had connected on the villain's collar. Tenya took advantage of the warp users shock to run at third gear towards the door while his companions covered him. Now they had to drag the fight out.

* * *

Izuku found himself in water. His first action was to put his rebreather in his mouth and take stock of his surroundings. A shark-like villain was getting near but was kicked in the jaw by Tsuyu. The frog girl grabbed her classmate and brought them both to the nearest point above water, which happened to be a large boat.

"Thanks, Asu- Tsuyu-san" he corrected himself for her. Minoru was with them and panicking.

"They said they were planning on killing All Might! What are we gonna do?!" Izuku projected his chi through his next words to calm them down.

"They had a plan on taking on Aizawa-sensei and Thirteen-sensei, but we may have two advantages. Tsuyu-san" she turned to him. "You're quirk gives you an edge in the water, right?" Tsuyu gave a nod at this.

"This means they don't know our quirks, so we have the element of surprise. They also wrote us off as 'just students', so they are underestimating us." the boat started sinking suddenly. Looking over the rails revealed that the villains had punched a hole in the hull.

"Mineta-san, what's your quirk?" Izuku asked in a hurry. Minoru explained about his 'grapeballs' and his limits while Tsuyu did the same. The green haired teen made a simple plan up on the spot for everyone to get out in one piece. Minoru started throwing dozens of grape balls over the railing and nailing a few of the villains. Izuku then jumped over the edge and landed a quirk and chi enhanced kick on the water surface, causing it to divide under the force. Tsuyu grabbed him with her tongue and lifted her classmates over the water. The divide soon filled in with water dragging the villains together, with minoru's grape balls sticking them together in a large pileup. When the students were at a safe distance, they breathed a sigh of relief.

"Let's go to the teachers and regroup." Izuku took the lead again. As they were going back to the place they separated at, they came across Eraserhead and Fiara as the werewolf's arm was being disintegrated.

* * *

Eraserhead was starting to slow down. A villain with a strength mutation quirk almost grabbed him. There was a 'kai' and he went flying.

"Need a hand?" Fiara asked while taking a stance. Eraserhead didn't give any answer other than a grunt, and the two martial artists engaged. Every time Eraserhead found his quirk failing, Fiara helped him until he could open his eyes again. The scarfed hero thought it was nice working with a professional who knew when and how to help him while staying out of his way. The leader of the villains decided to take a stand, and Fiara knew he was planning on something as he was counting down. He kicked Eraserhead in the back of the knee to drop him painlessly and went in when the ash haired villain said 'one'. His forearm was starting to disintegrate where the villain's hands were, and the werewolf responded by kneeing him in the lower ribs.

"Just as I thought," Shigaraki said as he caught his breath from the strike. "You can only erase one quirk at a time, and the time you closed your eyes are becoming shorter. It must be a strain to keep your eyes open, hero-san." The red eyed villain glanced at Fiara.

"I haven't heard of you before, but you seem only capable of regeneration. Luckily for me, I have a counter. Nomu." a black mist appeared and a monster stepped out. His, _its,_ brain was visible atop its beak-like head. Its black skin was straining under its large muscle and the jagged mouth made groans as if it were in pain. Fiara could tell by the scent that it use to be human but was changed by artificial means. The hormones of fear and pain were almost palatable for the werewolf, and it pissed him off. The monster charged at Eraserhead fast. Before the hero could react, there was a shockwave as Fiara blocked him with his bokken.

"The hell is that made of?" he silently asked himself as the stick might as well have been a twig compared to the nomu's fist. Not only that, but Fiara was able to cross the distance and block before Eraserhead could even react.

"Just wood." the martial artist told him before turning towards the monster.

"I'm sorry of what you had been forced through." his tone was filled with pity for the abomination. He struck at the former human's collarbone, pelvis, and kidney in a single motion.

"Sorry, but it's got shock absorption…" the villain leader trailed off as the nomu had bruises forming.

"The hell!? Shock absorption is supposed to deal with that! Fuck it, he still has super regeneration, strength, and speed." the next few blows that nomu threw showed it wasn't enough as Fiara countered and redirected every punch, kick, and tackle thrown at him. Shigaraki knew he was in trouble, but saw an opening. Three students were hiding by the water. With a silent command, Kurogiri warped him right in front of the frog girl.

"Get the hell away from her!" Izuku saw what those hands did to Fiara and stepped in between them. Cracked hands found his gloves and the material fell apart. Soon, Izuku's hands were being disintegrated as well. Even through the excruciating pain, he realized the quirk had stopped. Eraserhead was giving him a death glare as his student shoved him off. There was a crash as the nomu was thrown halfway across the field by a furious werewolf that gave the same look. The lead villain was warped away by his companion just as the words that signified their plan failed rang through the area.

" **It's alright now…** " the booming voice of All Might said. " **Because I am here!** " in a flash, the hero took down multiple villains and stepped in front of Izuku.

"You're _late_ ," Fiara stated bluntly. It was apparent to everyone that Shigaraki's deliberate harm to his student pissed him off. The soft flame that usually simmered beneath the surface of his calm exterior was now a burning rage.

" **I came as soon as I heard from young Iida. More heroes will arrive shortly.** " the anger that surrounded the werewolf didn't faze the number one hero, mostly because he knew the fury wasn't aimed at him, but the red-eyed villain that was just ways away. The nomu had managed to trot back to the clearing just as more students had arrived.

"DIE, you fucking teleporting bastard!" Katsuki bellowed as he pinned Kurogiri with his gauntlet over his metal collar. "You use the fucking mist to hide your body, but the metal couldn't be just for decoration. Give me a fucking excuse to blow you up!" Kirishima sighed at his threat, likening it to the line of a villain. Shouto had frozen the nomu to the ground to give the heroes a few more seconds.

"Can you deal with that thing?" Fiara asked the symbol of peace. All Might gave a nod. "If you would. I'll treat Izuku's wounds. Be careful; it has multiple quirks meant to match you." he gave his warning as he walked towards the injured teen. He pulled a bundle of gauze and a small bottle of alcohol from his side pouch. He put his cape at Izuku's mouth.

"Bite." the teacher said and Izuku put the cloth in between his teeth.

"I'm not gonna lie; this will hurt like a bitch. One two three!" on his mark, Izuku screamed through the cloth as his teacher poured the alcohol on his skinless hands. Fiara had Tsuyu and Minoru hold Izuku's wrists to keep his hands steady as the eldest of the group wrapped his student's hands in gauze as best he could. The bandages were already turning red under the blood Izuku's hands had been oozing. Through the burning pain, Izuku focused on the fight between All Might and the nomu. It kept trying to hit the hero at his scar to invoke as much pain as it could. Crimson seeped through his white shirt as he kept striking the abomination.

It then tried to go for Katsuki to distract the hero, forcing the explosive teen off his opponent. The teleporter immediately got as far away as he could from the two powerhouses. All Might grabbed the monster by its torso and pulled it into a suplex, only to have a warp gate open right under the hero. The nomu's hands found purchase in the hero's side causing All Might to cough blood. Shouto froze half of the abomination to allow the top hero to escape the painful grip.

" **Many thanks, young Todoroki.** " he praised as the monster start moving. His arm and leg fell off only to be replaced moments later.

"Fight as long as you want, but nomu here was made to take you on at your full power." Shigaraki found himself in a better situation than he thought he would be in. That illusion was shattered as the werewolf stepped in.

"I've finished treating Izuku; take a breather while I take care of this thing." Fiara turned to the villain leader after addressing his friend. "You barged into a class session, separated my class, tried to harm Thirteen, almost removed Eraserhead's arm, and hurt my disciple. Defeat the top hero? I won't even let you lose to him. Let me show you just who 'Fiara' is." His tone was flat, but the ultimatum was filled with his fury. His chi flooded the area to the point of almost choking everyone. His wooden sword was drawn. The overbearing pressure suddenly disappeared...

And the nomu fell with Fiara behind it. There was no sound or movement from the werewolf. Fiara had attacked in the moment between moments; faster than anyone could see, he struck the towering figure dozens of times in that invisible moment, before the black creature could even register the pain. The silence was deafening as he turned his head towards the entrance.

"Cavalry's arrived." he stated as he calmly walked over to All Might to treat him, who was as shocked as everyone around him. Just as he said, the heroes arrived to help not seconds later. Shigaraki called the retreat as fast as he could and the villains were being teleported out hastily as the heroes caught who they could. The villain's had lost and the heroes won, but for everyone who saw the nomu fall, a question rang out.

'Who was the monster between the two: the nomu, or Anima?'

* * *

This was a fun chapter to write. I like writing fight scenes, though I may not be as good as I think; tell me if I'm not. As for Anima taking down nomu in the underclimatic end... yeah. This is a person who was a hero long before the role was even a career option, and he's grown in power and skill for even longer; nomu's got nothing on that. As for the villains themselves, I made them a bit more threatening to counter the balance on the heroes side. Questions, comments, concerns? Give me a reply! I love hearing from you guys. Until next chapter!


	9. Aftermath

I have returned! With many things occupying my time (mainly lack of internet; I'm at a friends house) this took longer than I wanted. I will still be trying to upload semi-regularly, so enjoy!

* * *

Shigaraki landed in a bar after the warp from the USJ. Kurogiri and the nomu came a moment later.

"The hell! All Might wasn't weakened at all!" the ash haired teen almost shouted at the monitor.

" _No, he was. We just greatly underestimated him if he took out the nomu._ " the voice from the screen was raspy but clear.

"That's another thing, it wasn't; some hero named Fiara tore it apart without a damn sweat, with a fucking wooden sword!" Shigaraki had no clue how he did, but the hero had treated the nomu as a mere nuisance. ' _Take a breather while I take care of this thing_ ' he said, and it didn't even look like he was straining himself.

" _I'll look into him. If he has a powerful quirk, then we could probably use it to kill All Might._ " the person behind the monitor told his disciple.

"W-won't, won't work." shigaraki turned his head to the bar where there was a man with visible, black veins. His sickly pale skin and sunken eyes made him look almost vampiric under his long brown hair. "If if it's th-that F-F-Fiara I know, he does-doesn't have a-a quirk-k to t-take." the sickly man started laughing hoarsely to himself as if he told the best damn joke.

"It had to be a quirk; there's no way someone could move or heal that fast if they were normal." Shigaraki didn't know who the man was, but to think that hero was quirkless was like saying the moon was a star.

"Didn't say he-he-he was nor-normal, fa-far from it-t, but quirks aren't the, quirks aren't the-the only form of p-powers _out there_. F-Fiara's power is fr-from s-s-s-something else." the stuttering madman started laughing again before he spoke to himself. "Ah, it look's like, looks like, you're be-becoming a pl-player in this game, battle, battle wolf. I'm want-wanting to win this time, so b-be prepared to g-give up the pr-prize." his thoughts wandered to his "prize", making his blood race.

" _Shigaraki, let me introduce you to an acquaintance of mine, Archibald. He's told me about powers that were present long before quirks, and it looks like this hero is an example of such. Use his services as you see fit, but he won't take to the field unless he want's to. Let's deal with both problems: this Fiara hero, and All Might._ " the blood eyed teen bowed at the screen.

"Yes, Sensei!"

* * *

"You're taking the credit for this, Toshinori." Anima told the haggard man as they and Izuku were behind Cementoss' quickly made barrier. The heroes had pulled out stretchers for the injured and were carting them to the infirmary.

"Why can't you?" Toshinori asked as they followed Izuku's stretcher

"No hero's license. If I take credit, I'm going to be a criminal by law." it was a sad fact. Back when Anima was more open about his hero work, the laws of quirk usage weren't written yet. Using the legal gray area of citizen's arrest and the self-defense laws, he could be a hero without getting arrested, though he toed the line often. Now almost any use of one quirk could get them arrested on principle. Even as his powers were technically not a quirk, it made for a law case every time he tried being a hero anymore.

"Couldn't you get one?" Izuku asked as they arrived at Recovery Girl's office.

"I've been trying to do so since you started middle school, but the legal hassle makes it nearly impossible for someone not from a hero school to get a license; it's even harder for an adult my age." Recovery girl was listening to the conversation while attending Toshinori's wounds. It broke her heart that people with every qualification to be a hero were denied because of simple legalities. By the way, Anima put it, he didn't have a school to teach him heroing, but he acted as a vigilante just so he could help. She used her quirk on Izuku's wounds as best she could but the damage left a couple scars.

"What happened to his hands?" She broke the conversation. Anima gave a rueful smile.

"The leader disintegrated objects on contact, and Izuku-san grabbed his hands to prevent him from touching Asui-san's head. He looked like a hero, saving her life." Anima told her. She could see the regret in both his and Toshinori's eyes; they blamed themselves for the injury. Many heroes had the thought 'if only I…' that she was all too familiar with.

"He'll still have full use of his hands, right?" Toshinori asked. Recovery Girl's nod made him give a warm, sincere, smile.

"It's good to see everyone is okay!" the principal called from the door.

"Principal Nedzu!" Izuku gave a bow in greeting. He instantly regretted it as blood loss and exhaustion tried to bring him to the floor, only to be saved by his mentors putting him back in bed.

"I fail to see how scarring injuries would count as 'okay' sir." Recovery Girl scolded him.

"No one received life threatening injuries, no one died, and no one was crippled. Other than some minor scars everyone is alive and healthy, so everyone's okay!" Anima knew this was karma. He had used those same words to justify himself getting hurt with the added lines of "I heal fast". Now the same words were being used to prevent him from losing his temper any more than he had.

"It's alright." the only teen in the room called, making everyone turn to him. "It's only a couple of scars, and I saved someone, so don't worry. I'd do it again anyway if the need arises." Toshinori and Recovery girl were shocked while the principal gave an approving nod.

"This just has to be karma…" Anima mumbled before facing his student. "Don't say that. This time you screwed up and hurt yourself, but next time you'll know better. His quirk is based on his hands, so avoid them. He has little combat training, use that. Get better so that you don't have to gain another scar in order to save someone in a situation like that! Scars last a long time and even with current tech, they're hard to heal, so try not to look for more 'hero marks'." his voice wavered at the last phrase of the riot act that he gave.

Izuku knew exactly what was going through his teacher's mind. 'The Outliers' was the name of Anima's first hero group when he joined at sixteen, and he kept the name going. Every Outlier had a special ring that they used to identify themselves, and he kept the rings of every team member he ever had when they died, save one, which was the first leader's ring that was being carried by another of the two other living members. His teacher saw several dozens of heroes come, go, and die; he was worried he'd lose his student as well.

"I'll be careful," Izuku assured Anima. "I can't help anyone if I'm crippled." he smiled as his calming aura washed over the room. Anima gave a warm smile in return and let the protective side of his chi wash over and mix with his student's. Toshinori felt the energy the two were emitting and wondered if he could do the same if Anima would teach him; he still wanted to be a hero even after he lost One For All entirely. Soon, his friend Tsukauchi came in to see his condition while asking for statements

* * *

Two days later, the school opened up after the police swept through the crime scene with a fine tooth comb. Class 1-A was adjusting as well as they could, but several students made it a plan to see the therapist after class. The day went by and every student was getting pumped for the festival. Walking to lunch with Tenya and Ochaco, Izuku was shocked.

"You're going to be a hero for money?"

"Yeah. I know it's not the noblest of reasons, but there you go…" she sounded sheepish at the revelation.

"Of course it isn't! Any reason to help someone is a good reason!" Tenya assured her while Izuku gave an agreeing nod.

"I kinda forgot that being a hero is a career that can make large figures." the green haired teen laughed at himself. Ochaco smiled warily.

"I mean, I'm working at our construction company, but there aren't many projects, so we're having a little trouble." Izuku perked up at that.

"A quirk like yours would be really useful for work like that, or any heavy lifting for that matter. Ask Cementoss for ideas, as he usually deals with cleanup jobs and rescue." Ochaco's smile became more genuine from the advice.

"Thank's Deku! I'm going to be a hero to give my family the easy life they deserve!" the boys were clapping at her enthusiasm when All Might came from the hall's intersection.

" **Midoriya, my boy! If I could have a word with you over lunch?** " he asked holding a bento. Izuku bid his friends goodbye while trying to ignore Ochaco likening his idol to a schoolgirl (the mental image would not go away).

* * *

"Forty minutes?" Toshinori nodded at his student.

"I can get a little over an hour if I push my limit. Soon enough, I won't have enough time to teach a class without spacing my muscle form throughout the lesson. You'll be seeing more of Anima substituting for me then." the haggard hero told his student.

"But more importantly, let's talk about the sports festival. If you want to get a good sponsorship, then you need to show the heroes what you can do. From now until a couple days before the festival, let's train you the best we can!" Izuku didn't know it, but Toshinori had planned to use this to show the world that there would be a new symbol of peace, but Anima told him not to. 'People look up to those who show their beliefs through actions, not who has the strongest abilities. It's why someone like Superman has a memorial and Hulk doesn't. Let him be the hero he can, and people will start looking up to him like they do you.' Toshinori wondered how someone so young could sound so old and experienced, but that was for later.

"I'll do my best!" Izuku nodded at his teacher before heading to class. If All Might couldn't help as many people anymore, then he would do his best to make sure someone could.

* * *

"You want me to what?" Anima nearly stumbled mid stride at the principal's proposal.

"Teach martial arts as extracurricular for freshmen," Nedzu repeated without hesitation. "You don't have to have a teaching license; UA doesn't require them."

"That's not the point. Why did you come to me? Eraserhead is a martial artist, so is gunhead. There's also the fact you don't seem to like me." Anima could tell his aura was causing the animal to feel on edge, like a rabbit next to a snake.

"Those two are skilled, but neither of them could do what you can with pure skill. As for my irrational nervousness around you, I'll deal with it for the future safety of my students." Nedzu told his walking companion.

"What do you mean by the phrase 'do what I can through pure skill'?" Nedzu predicted the question and spoke in a soft voice.

"Chi, Chakra, qi, aura, magic, whatever you call it; if a martial artist is one in a thousand, those who can use your abilities are one in a million, Lupo." Anima's head shot towards the creature at the use of his birth name.

"I like to think of myself as intelligent, but you were rather hard to find simply due to your age and name change; Why did you change it, anyway?" Anima took a breath before giving a chuckle.

"Tradition, mostly," he stated. "When men from my lineage manage to make it to sixty, we change our name from Lupo to Anima, wolf to spirit in translation. I call it chi, by the way; magic is an academic form, while the other names are for the physical forms." the principal opened his mouth, but Anima knew his answer. "I'm not training a group of hormonal teens to utilize chi. I wouldn't even train a group of adults; the risk someone would misuse it is way too high, even for me." Nedzu sighed at the answer he got, but it was the most likely outcome.

"I guess that I'll have to find someone else to teach martial arts..." Anima gave a quizzical look.

"I said I'm not teaching high schoolers chi, not that I wouldn't teach martial arts. I'll need something in return though." Nedzu looked up. He wasn't expecting that answer, but he could work with it.

"The pay is-" he started, but Anima held his hand out to stop him.

"Three hundred and six years of experience; I've got more money in stocks alone than most people would even see in their life alone, forget in my account. I want you to be a consultant for getting me a hero license." the principal gave a look before smiling. A hero with centuries of experience would be a boon to the community. Anima saw the animal nod in agreement.

"Does this mean I have to call you 'sir'?" Nedzu laughed at the question.

"Only in formal settings." he told the new teacher.

* * *

Izuku was walking with Eijiro, Tenya, Ochaco, Tsuyu, Mashirao, Momo, and Mezo to the gym after school to look at the new martial arts club. Opening the door, they found Anima meditating in the middle of the room. He welcomed them in with a small wave.

"Welcome to the introduction for the first martial arts club. What are your expectations?" Mashirao asked for further guidance in his art, and Momo wanted to learn more about weapons and their use. Most of the other students just had the simple thoughts of self-defense. Izuku gave his path in seven words.

"I want to protect everyone I can!" his classmates looked at him in shock. The green haired teen was normally polite and shy, but in the walls of the dojo, he put every notion of timid out of his mind. No one else outside his family but All Might had seen him in that state of mind, so it was jarring to see. Over the course of the class, Anima taught everyone basic stance while Mashirao and Izuku were instructed on the form in their katas. At the end of the lesson an hour later, Anima told them what he saw.

"Most of you didn't know what to expect coming in, and that's fine, but Martial arts are built upon themselves, so next time, choose the way you wish to grow. Izuku-san had his path figured out before he and I met nine years ago, he just didn't know martial arts could provide him the tools to realize it. If you want to improve and grow in a specific way, tell me and I'll help you get there; until then, work on the basics, as they are the foundation of your abilities. Am I understood?" the group responded with a firm yes and a bow.

"Class dismissed then. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me anytime. Get home safe." Anima saw his students off before he walked Izuku home.

"Anima-sensei? You told me about reinforcing an aspect of something with chi before, how would one go about doing that?" Anima looked at his precocious disciple before smiling. As he was explaining the process, his instincts told him something was coming soon, and he knew better than to write it off as paranoia. He just hoped his student had what it took to handle what the world threw his way.

This wrapped up the USJ incident and bridged into the sports festival arc. Anima now has the resources to gain a hero license now, but it'll still take some time until he officially has it. As for the villain portion, we have a new player this round. What is his story, and what is the "Prize"? These will be answered later! I tried to keep the marvel and dc references out, but it just wouldn't work, as Anima is from an amalgam universe of the two. As for Nedzu in my mind was always undersold in many fanfics, so I'm trying to show how that intelligence in mine; tell me what you thought. That is all for today. Until next time!


	10. Sports Festival

It was the day of the festival, and class 1-A was relaxing before the start of the first part of the festival. Shouto walked up to Izuku.

"Midoriya," he started. "on an objective basis, I think I'm stronger in terms of practical raw power. You've managed to catch All Might's eyes though. I'm going to beat you." at his declaration, Izuku gave a sad smile. He could tell that Shouto had some sort of baggage, but to feel that misdirected hatred thrown at him was upsetting; anger was a natural emotion that could be used productively, but hate just clouds the mind. 'He needs help' was the thought that came to Izuku's head, 'And I'm going to try'. His gaze hardened as he responded.

"I don't know what brought this up, but I've studied martial arts for so long; skill will always give an edge over power. If you think it'll make you a better hero, then I'm going to make that victory a hard one!" His chi flooded the room with the only emotion he was feeling: determination. Shouto had to collect his mind at the phrase 'if you think it'll make you a better hero'. All his classmate was worried about was helping him get better, for no reason than wanting to help. It was a refreshing feeling; not having any expectations from someone other than being a better 'him'. He gave a small smile.

"OI! Don't think that you can take both of us on, Deku!" Katsuki bellowed, causing the two to look in his direction. "Don't fall behind, Half 'n Half, or I'll lose another stepping stone!" the class made a double take at the explosive teen's nickname for the dual-quirk user.

"Then let's see who wins this!" Izuku spoke his ultimatum while putting his clenched fist in between the three. The new rivaling trio fist-bumped in agreement as the teacher called the class to the stadium.

* * *

Izuku walked with his class to the main arena as President Mic announced them with everyone else. With the way he worded the introductions, everyone's attention was focused on class 1-A; the other classes were making 1-A their main targets. There were some cat calls and obscenities shouted when Midnight walked to the podium as she, by title, was 18+ and reffing for freshmen.

"Calling the player representative of freshmen, Izuku Midoriya!" she announced. As the Green haired teen was walking up the steps, he heard his class talking to each other.

"Wait, didn't Deku and Bakugo tie in the entrance exams?"

"Only in the physical, Midoriya said he got first in the written portion, so he technically was first."

"Fucking written exam and the bullshit scores..." As the teen walked to the podium, he realized just how many people came. Taking a deep breath, he started the speech from memory.

"The only thing that dictates our success in this festival are four things: training, instincts, use of any abilities that we have, and determination. Everyone has their shot, but even if you don't win, take your loss and use it to grow; a hero isn't decided on their powers, but on their heart. May this be the day everyone: student, teacher, and audience, remembers for years to come. Plus Ultra!" his words fueled everyone in the school to give cheers as any nervousness was washed away.

"Nicely said. And with that out of the way, it's on to the first Event!" the screen behind Midnight lit up at her announcement with the words 'obstacle race'. When everyone was at the start the countdown began.

* * *

Jesse was glad she had the day off and was spending it with Inko at her house. The sports festival would be rough on every student, but parents would worry; she was there in case Izuku did something severely dangerous or, gods forbid, hurt himself and caused Inko a panic attack. The women turned to the screen and they saw everyone running at the start.

"That kid, Todoroki," the she-wolf pointed at the ice user who froze almost everyone at the start. "He pulled a bold move."

"There's Izuku!" Inko shouted as, sure enough, he and many of his classmates jumped over the scarred teen's opening move and the other students. The robots then came into camera view just as a short kid with purple hair was batted aside.

"THE FIRST OBSTACLE HAS APPEARED! THE ZERO POINT ROBOTS FROM THE HERO ENTRANCE EXAM: THE ROBO INFERNO!" the commentator explained what they were as the two women continued to watch. Todoroki froze a couple them in just the right position that the collapsed just after he ran through, blocking the other students. Izuku took point and cleared the debris for himself and his competitors.

"Even when he's competing, he still helps others." his mother said with pride. When a robot landed on a student, Inko gasped.

"Like I'd die!" the camera picked up the redhead's words as he tore through the metal. Jesse doubled over at his anger induced rant at Tetsutetsu nearly identical quirk. She remembered the outlier Cross-Stitch doing the same when he found Starhealer and Fiara were both regenerators as well. Izuku grabbed a scrap plate of metal for some reason and ran towards the next obstacle: The Fall.

"She reminds me of Desmond…" the therapist held her head as one student, Mei, seemed to only participate in the festival for showcasing her gadgets. There was a groan as the support girl also called her equipment her 'Babies'.

"I take it this 'Desmond' called his inventions by the same name?" Inko was acting innocent as her friend gave a horrified nod.

"What made it worse was that he made all sorts of apparatuses that replaced his legs based on anime and such; trying to make himself a drider cyborg for one." it was Inko's turn to laugh while she imagined the first test with such a peculiar set of appendages. They saw Izuku start stacking landmines from the final obstacle and using the metal plate as a springboard. He managed to make the plate hit another explosive on the landing by mistake and started tumbling like a cartoon character, with his forehead breaking the finish line tape. Jesse then had to start working on helping Inko to calm down from her son's "severely dangerous idea". 'Anima must be watching this with a smile' she inwardly groaned, as that kind of crazy stunt would be something he'd do.

* * *

"ahahahahaha!" Anima was laughing hard enough to elicit tears when he saw his disciple get first place through literally blowing himself up. he was watching the festival in the waiting room of the government building. The trial for getting him his hero license was keeping him from attending but thankfully everyone else in the building wanted to watch it as well, so the trial times were during the festival breaks.

"It seems your student has… unorthodox planning ideas." Nedzu deadpanned at his side. The principal usually commented on the seniors' festival, but he had to attend the hearing as Anima's consultant.

"He can come up with insane plans that blindside almost anyone, and they work too." the werewolf boasted about his student with pride. As there was a half hour break between the first and second event for all grades, so the two were called in for the next part of his appeal.

"If you really need to, you can use my age and hero experience as leverage. After you, _sir_." he opened the door for the animal.

* * *

"Now Here are the results!" Midnight declared as the screen showed the first 42 students.

"Only the first 42 get to Advance! I'm sorry for those who didn't make it, but take heart, the finale is still being prepared! Anyway, on to the next event!" the screen showed the words 'cavalry battle', and the referee started explaining the rules. The students stopped discussing with one another once she said last rule.

"The headband of the person who ranked first is worth a million points! You now have fifteen minutes." the 18+ heroine said as the timer appeared on the big screen.

"Fifteen, oh crap!" Izuku frantically started to try and team up with people, but with such a large target on his back, it was proving to be pointless until Ochaco wanted to team up. Tears were welling and all of the sudden Mei jumped into the fray. Announcing her shameless attempts to advertise her 'babies' with him.

"This is good, but I'm thinking of adding someone else if we can find- ah!" the green haired teen ran to his target.

"Tokoyami-san!" the shadow quirk user glanced over. "I'd like to ask you to team with me! I have a plan, but your quirk can cover the blind spots that it leaves open. If we can play keep away for the long haul, we're golden." the bird-faced student to ponder, then gave a nod.

"It seems that your method is sound on paper, but the field is where it's going to be pushed to the limits. I'm intrigued enough to join you in this endeavor." Izuku mentally cheered as they got into a formation. Fumikage was in front while Mei and Ochaco were supporting from the back. The signal was given, and everyone moved at once.

* * *

several minutes had passed and Izuku's team was managing rather well in keeping their points from the other teams.

"That kid of yours sure is something else. His plan is solidly built out of quirks that couldn't be more different." Thirteen commented to Toshinori.

"He's got a good head on his shoulders, that's for sure. Young Bakugo, in contrast, has a rather good team but isn't using it to his advantage. It seems those two are always a foil to one another." the haggard man saw that Katsuki had lost his headband, and was struggling. The when the timer had reached seven minutes, the students got even more frantic.

* * *

When Katsuki's team went for Izuku's horse, the million-point bearer had stopped for a moment.

"Do you even know your teammates' names?" he asked his rival before his team bolted away, pissing Katsuki off.

"After the fucker!" the explosive teen demanded, only for nothing to happen.

"He's got a point, do you?" Mina asked.

"It doesn't matter right now!"

"Answer us…" Sero left the threat unvoiced.

"Fucking fine, No! Now let's win this shit!" the team then was mildly satisfied and did as told. Izuku was already too far, so they changed targets.

"It seems your seeds of discord have withered." Fumikage had told Izuku, but the teen didn't look concerned.

"It was only for us to get some distance from Kacchan, now we just need to stay low…" he trailed off as Shouto's formation was in front of them.

"I'll be taking that headband now." the dual-quirk user calmly stated. Things had changed now, as Izuku didn't think they could hold that team off for the five minutes left in the event. Soon even Katsuki came around, making the million point team's situation even worse. Deciding it was time, Tenya made a gamble. He burst forth with a speed unknown to any of Izuku's team, taking the headband.

"Crap, I've lost track of who has how many points, so unless anyone else knows, we have to get their points! here's my plan." his team nodded at the idea and they ran towards Shouto's group. Izuku for the first time in the cavalry battle used his quirk, forcing Shouto on the defensive. Small flames came from his left arm only for an instant, blinding the green haired teen for only a second as he used the wind pressure of his arm speed to blow the flames out; it wasn't his role to get the points.

"TIME!" President Mic had called from the commenters booth. Izuku looked at his team.

"You get em?" they all showed the bands they snatched from Shouto while the inheritor of One For All distracted him and his team. At the announcement that they got third place the group cheered. Even if they didn't get first, they were still in the game. There was supposed to be a one hour break in between the second and third event, so everyone went to the locker rooms to unwind from the stress. Izuku felt a small nudge and turned to see Shouto silently ask him to follow. The duo walked to an unused entrance where the dual quirk user broke the uncomfortable silence.

"You blindsided me, so much so, that I broke my pledge. It's uncanny how similar your quirks are, so I'm going to ask; are you All Might's illegitimate child?" there was a pregnant pause as Izuku's brain rebooted to answer the odd question.

"You've got it wrong, but I guess that's what an illegitimate son would say. Anyway no, I'm not. But why are you…" Izuku's voice trailed off. Shouto took a breath and explained his circumstances; everywhere starting with his father's ambition to the quirk marriage, even where he got the scar, he told the teen he considered his rival.

"That's why I'm going to be the top hero without his quirk." Izuku saw that look again. there was so much hate in that gaze it was almost palatable. Izuku lent a verbal hand out.

"But it's not his quirk; it's yours. You aren't him and you never will be. If you won't go 100%, then it's insulting to think you can be the top! If you ever need help, know that you can talk to me." Shouto was then hit with Izuku's aura, and for the first time in years, he felt okay. It was similar to how he felt around his mother: safe and comforted. He steeled his face and walked away from that calm warmth, fearing his buried emotions would show. He ate his lunch in silence as he tried to collect his thoughts. When the time for the last event was almost ready, the students went outside to the arena to find a large raised concrete platform. There was some confusion from the commentator's booth about why the girls of 1-A dressed as cheerleaders, but as soon a Momo had shouted Minoru's name in anger everyone could guess what happened.

"ALRIGHT EVERYONE!" President Mic called from the booth. "IT'S THE FINAL EVENT AND WITH SIXTEEN PEOPLE, IT'S GOING TO BE A TOURNAMENT! THE FRESHMEN OF UA ARE GOING TO BE PITTED IN ONE ON ONE COMBAT!"

* * *

"Well, waiting a couple weeks for the license with another week of mandatory hero patrol isn't the worst, just a hassle. Thank you, Nedzu." Anima had rented a car to allow the principal to watch his school's festival while he dropped him off at work.

"Think nothing of it. Call me vindictive, but I'll remember their face when I need to cheer up." the animal reassured the driver. The jury was dumbstruck when they were presented with the werewolf's birth records, and both of the defendants had to hide their laughter. When they got to the festival, Nedzu and Anima walked out while the martial artist gave the return address of the car to the person who would take care of it. With their UA badges, they went in back.

"Till next time, sir." the werewolf joked. Nedzu nodded and went towards the senior event to be just in time for their last event while Anima went to the freshmen course and found a seat with Toshinori in the front row.

"I take it everything went well?" the haggard man asked.

"As well as it could of. I have a mandatory patrol before they let me act as a proper hero. I was driving during the later half of the break; anything interesting I missed…." toshinori only pointed at 1-A's girls with a bemused expression.

"Young Mineta tricked them into the outfits somehow, but due to Hagakure's insistence, the other girls decided to take it in stride and make an improvised routine." despite the awkwardness of their coordination, the girls were using their lithe forms as they pulled off a well-made routine for the circumstances. Both men gave applause after their performance. Then it was time for the first match.

"Let's go see our beloved student."

* * *

I found out that sleep deprivation is a mildly consistent way for me to break through writer's block as I started writing this at sometime around 2 in the morning. Writing about the first event by the viewer's reactions was fun. I had intended to have this chapter cover all of the sports festivals, but as I hit 2500+ words, I knew that I'd have to break it up. Next up are the fights; There were a few changes that may surprise you! Until next time!


	11. Tournament

"Hey, Izuku-san. I managed to make it in time for your fight."

"Midoriya, my boy! We came to wish you luck!" the teen in question looked to find his teachers wearing warm smiles. Scratching the back of his head, Izuku bowed to them.

"I'm glad you could make it." his voice was shaking slightly, showing the worry that was in his stomach. With a couple reassuring pats, his butterflies were starting to settle down. A thought entered the student's mind.

"Anima-sensei, Posso parlare con te dopo il torneo?" the werewolf straightened slightly. Whenever Izuku talked to him in Italian, it was a sensitive topic that he wished wasn't overheard.

"Certamente, mio allievo," he answered. Toshinori had no clue what the two just said, but by the look in his student's eye, he was trying to help.

'It doesn't matter. If I'm needed, they'll bring me in the loop' the haggard hero reasoned. Izuku was called to the stage, and Toshinori left with a few small words of advice.

"Remember, when you feel uneasy, **that's when you have to smile!** " he transformed at the last phrase with his signature smile.

* * *

"FIRST FIGHT!" President Mic announced. "WITH SOME OF THE TOP GRADES IN THE HERO DEPARTMENT, IZUKU MIDORIYA!" the crowd cheered on as the bushy-haired teen walked onto the stage.

"AGAINST… SORRY, BUT WE DON'T HAVE MUCH TO GO OFF. FROM THE GENERAL DEPARTMENT, SHINSOU HITOSHI!" Both contestants were rather mad that the general department student had such a lackluster introduction. The rules were laid out, and Hitoshi tried to lay his trap.

"Seriously, 'I give up'? This tournament is a test to see our determination. If I had a strong desire for my future, then fears don't matter; still, that monkey keeps talking about dignity. Don't you think he's the biggest idiot you've ever seen?" the bell had rung then, and Izuku simply shook his head. Hitoshi cursed as the martial artist closed in. The brainwashing quirk user was pinned to the ground in mere moments.

"WHAT'S THIS?! MIDORIYA HAD PINNED HIS OPPONENT IN SECONDS! WHAT KIND OF FIGHTING IS THAT?!" Eraserhead decided to explain to his annoying companion and the crowd.

"It was Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, a martial art designed for efficient holds. Shinsou's quirk, Brainwash, can control anyone who responds to him. With non destructive powers like that, he couldn't get into the heroes program. It's why I hate the current setup." at the words of the calmer announcer, many heroes started talking about the uses of such a quirk.

"Although such powers go against my moral code, no power is useless," Izuku told his opponent as he released his hold. Hitoshi hid his watery eyes from being praised with his words as he walked off stage.

"Even if it's not now, I'm going to qualify for the heroes course, and show you all up as a fantastic fucking hero!" he declared.

"I look forward to it." Izuku encouraged.

* * *

Shouto and Sero were up next, and even at a distance, Izuku could feel the scarred teen's emotions.

"Not good," Anima said. The werewolf knew that the teen was about to snap, and he did so with his quirk. Half of the stadium was encased in ice with one move.

A-a little much, doncha think?" the tape quirk user meekly asked. Upon Shouto releasing his opponent, Izuku turned to his teacher.

"ha bisogno di aiuto…" Anima figured that his student's concerns were for someone else, but his words rang true. Flying off the handle like that would only get himself and others killed unless he controlled himself.

"farò quello che posso." the werewolf reassured his student.

* * *

Anima watched as Izuku went to help Ochaco for her match as he stayed to watch the two brick-like students. From what he could tell, almost everything was identical between them. When the fight started, they ran at one another. Although no one else could see it, Anima's experience told him their differences. Eijiro was the sturdier of the two as he could take the force of his opponent's heavy strikes. Tetsutetsu made up for the fact with stronger punches, as his metal-clad skin gave him more mass to strike with. It was the fight between a monolith and a battering ram, but there was one difference; Eijiro had a couple weeks of skill. It didn't mean much, but it gave him an edge as he turned his body with the impacts to bleed the momentum from his opponent's punches. The two hit the floor at the same time, making it a hard call for Midnight to make. Slowly though, Eijiro was getting up. Calling the hardening quirk user the winner by knockout made the crowd go ballistic. Even over the excitement, Anima overheard the students.

"You hit like a goddamn truck, man. The only thing I could do was bleed it like I was taught." The redhead told his downed opponent.

"Taught? You learned how to soften the blow with your quirk?" the platinum blond asked.

"Not with my quirk, but with skill. Anima-sensei teaches martial arts to freshmen after school. Why, you wanna join?"

"Ya know, I just might." the two grinned at each other as the staff carried them to Recovery Girl. The aforementioned teacher smiled at the prospect of a new student.

'I was thinking of giving Muay Thai training like Kirishima, but with punches like that, Karate Kempo may work better for Tetsutetsu' the werewolf thought to himself.

* * *

Jesse and Inko turned to the screen as soon as the announcement from President Mic had told them the Ochaco and Katsuki were up next. The match started and Ochaco bolted for Katsuki. She kept him on his toes and focused on her while Jesse saw the rubble floating up in the corners of the screen. She dropped a good dozen rocks on the explosive teen when he was under them, only for him to blast the rubble into dust.

"It's not over," the she-wolf called. True enough, the gravity girl had slid under the explosion and tapped Katsuki's forearm. The explosive teen almost blasted himself off stage, but amazingly, he corrected himself. Blasting around with small explosions, the teen managed to get close enough to grab his opponent.

"I'm impressed," Jesse admitted. "Adjusting to zero-G in a split second is hard, especially if you haven't dealt with the sensation. He's doing it by instinct as well." In the next move, Katsuki kicked Ochaco in the side, and she went down. By the complexion of her skin, it seemed more from overusing her quirk than anything, but the gut blow didn't help.

"I do hope she's okay…" Inko muttered. Jesse put her hand on her friend's shoulder. It wasn't the injuries that she was worried about, but the girl's self-esteem.

* * *

Izuku put his best foot forward as he got prepared for his next match. As much as he wanted to help Ochaco, he needed to focus. He turned a corner to find that Endeavor was walking down the same hall.

"I must applaud you for your strength and skill, but Shouto has a duty to surpass All Might; you'll prove to be an excellent testbed. Your fancy martial arts won't help against him, but give him a good fight." Upon hearing his condescending words, Izuku remembered what Shouto told him his father did and lost his composure.

"Martial arts were made to defeat stronger opponents, so it will help. As for comparing me to All Might; I'm not him, And Todoroki isn't you." this was the first time his anger had seeped into his chi before, but the undercurrent of wrath was palatable to the #2 "hero" as his aura filled the hall. Endeavor paused for a second, surprised at the feeling a 'mere child' gave but decided to keep walking. As the two left each other, the "hero" came across the werewolf in a wool suit.

"My disciple is a serious hero fan; the hell did you do to make him hate you?" Anima already had a clue by the small bits he collected, and he didn't care much for the government worker.

"I don't know, but you must not have done a good job teaching him if he has that attitude." Endeavor tried for a low blow, but it didn't work.

"That's honestly the first time I've seen him angry at anyone, and he's had plenty of reasons to be. I'm proud of him though." it was evident in his voice and on his face that the Anima wasn't lying, and that pissed the flame "hero" off even more.

"Proud of what, that he talks back to his elders?"

"That he stands true to his beliefs." Endeavor was taken aback at the man's flippancy. "Even when he's outmatched, I've never seen him back down when those ideals are on the line. Say what you will, but at least we trust each other." Anima walked away as he hid his smirk from the "hero". 'Izuku's right; if that is the upbringing he had, he really needs that help.'

* * *

"Still hate how I've got to 'examine' the fights, Archibald." Shigaraki groused from his seat. He'd rather be playing video games than this.

"I-I-Informa-information is is k-key to win-winning a strategy ga-game. If, if it help-helps you fo-focus, think of kill-killing All-All Might-t as a, as a game with h-high rewards!" The mage encouraged. Though the man-child whined some more, he saw the reasoning behind it. Something told Archibald that Fiara was in the game due to one of the students, and he intended to find out who.

* * *

"START!" at the signal, Shouto sent out a glacier of ice, but Izuku got into a stance and Kicked the oncoming crystal with his quirk and chi. The impact of the two forces had caused a shockwave that even Midnight felt. The dual quirk user tried it again and got the same result. Izuku closed in fast, but an iceberg forced him to sidestep. He felt the drop in temperature and had to utilize his chi to bring his core body up to higher levels to compensate.

'That's it!' the martial artist figured it out. When he saw his opponent shivering, he confirmed his theory.

"Thanks for holding out this long, the fucker's pissed." the scarred teen turned his head towards his father. The green haired teen launched himself at his opponent.

"Where the hell are you looking!?" Shouto had to create a pillar of ice to block the quirk enhanced kick.

"You're shivering, Todoroki. Even quirks have a limit, and you can only endure so much cold. If you used your left side, it wouldn't be a problem for you. Everyone's giving it their all to be the top, and you say that you'd win with only half your strength? You haven't even dealt me an injury. Come at me with everything you've got!"

"The hell are you doing? Did my old man pay you off?" he couldn't see why Izuku would go to such lengths to help him, mid-fight no less, but here he was doing just that. He dodged another kick and sent ice at his opponent.

"Hell no, even from one meeting, I can see why you despise him. I'm not just gonna sit back and watch you go for the top while you half-ass it to disavow someone else. It's a goddamn joke!" Shouto took a set of kicks to his side and stumbled back.

"I'm not using my old man's-" he was cut off.

"It's your power, not his or anyone else's!" the scream echoed for only a moment, then the scorching heat came.

"Even if you wanna win… going out of your way to help your enemy… who's the joke now." Shouto berated his opponent, but the child-like smile wouldn't stay off his face.

* * *

"Ahahaha! That's my crazy student!" Anima found himself laughing once more at Izuku's actions, but it was evident that he was insurmountably proud of his pupil. Toshinori wasn't with him, but he found a group of small time heroes.

"That Todoroki kid?" a woman with compound eyes asked.

"Naw, Izuku is my disciple." his answer had another hero in a ninja outfit question him.

"He provoked his enemy into going all out; how are you proud of that?" the shock wave from the rapidly expanding air washed over them as Anima's eyes widened.

"His opponent has some problems, I don't know what they are, but they caused him to promise to only use one of his quirks. Izuku's decided to help him out of that, even in the middle of the fight. Even the true heroes like All Might sometimes forget that your enemy is a person, just like them. He's still looking to win, but he's put Todoroki's well being over winning." The heroes around him were shocked. Now that they knew why the teen was goading his opponent they, _pro heroes_ , couldn't help but look up to the _kid_.

* * *

Izuku was rocketing around the arena while trying to land a clean hit on the _dual-quirk_ user. The initial blast almost knocked him out of the ring with pure wind force alone. his shirt had burnt off from a stream of fire that, thanks to reinforcement, didn't hurt his skin. He managed to get close a few times, but with the wind up from a kick taking too long, he only got grazing hits. Shouto froze one of Izuku's leg up to mid calf.

"Finally," Izuku swore in his mind at the scarred teen's tone. He shattered the ice, but with more being made, his escape routes were limited towards his opponent, or out of the ring. He decided for an all or nothing gambit and took a low stance. With the surrounding environment covered in ice, Shouto recreated the initial blast his flames caused. The red lines of One For All tinted gold at his right arm as he collected his chi there. ' _Chi responds to your will. If you can't think of yourself beating your opponent, then it won't be as strong. Even if you can't see yourself beating your opponent, think of who could_.' The words of his first teacher ran through his head as he took a stance that wasn't his. His legs were less bent but his feet were farther apart. Instead of keeping his hands open, he clenched them in a fist. This wasn't Izuku's standard form; it was Anima's.

The golden glow in his arm flowed down his arm until it found itself at the apex of the punch, just as the shockwave crashed into said punch. The explosion was massive as unstoppable force met an immovable object. Dust flew in the air as the judges were left speechless. When it cleared, The winner was still undecided. Izuku had passed out from chi overuse, but Shouto had skid out of bounds.

"WHAT WAS THAT?! MIDORIYA IS UNCONSCIOUS, BUT TODOROKI'S BEEN THROWN OUT OF BOUNDS! THE HELL ARE YOUR STUDENTS MADE OF, AIZAWA?!" President Mic shouted.

"Just flesh and blood." the erasing hero smirked to himself at the same line that he had been the target of. He saw the stance that the student took, and he could almost see Izuku's mentor in the shadow of the teen. The medical teams came in and started to cart the two boys away. Everyone only had one question on their minds; if it was a real fight, who would have won?

* * *

The match hasn't been decided, even though it ended. If you want to have either win diverging from canon slightly, write a sound reason why in the comments! I know I may get some flak for Hitoshi's match, but Izuku has more self-control (and he'd understand Mashirao's point of view), so he wouldn't take the bait. also, the foreign words he spoke being for a private conversation was something that I came up with as a pseudo-secret code. Izuku has been with people who know multiple languages, so he can speak many (Japanese, Italian, Spanish, English, and conversational in Chinese) Next chapter wraps this arc up, so until next time!


	12. The Results

Izuku woke to the sight of his mentors at his side. He felt a mattress under him, so he figured that he was in the infirmary.

"What… happened?" the teen slowly got into a sitting position.

"You passed out from overusing your chi with that stunt you pulled," Anima stated softly. Izuku's heart dropped at the werewolf's words. His mind came to a simple conclusion of 'I lost'. Toshinori patted his inheritor's shoulders.

"Young Todoroki was pushed out of bounds by the shock wave, so the judges are still debating who really won." The haggard man calmed his student. It worked to an extent, but that only left the anxiety of not knowing that, to one like him, was still agonizing. Soon the door to the infirmary opened and Izuku saw Ochaco, Tenya, Kirishima, Tsuyu, and Mashirao.

"That was awesome Deku!"

"Exemplary performance in the match, Midoriya-san."

"Manly way to go down, dude!"

"It's kinda scary that you could go toe to toe with such a quirk." Izuku was getting embarrassed at the praise his friends were giving him. He scratched the back of his head and gave a sheepish grin. Soon, Mashirao spoke up.

"That last move…" he started, trying to find the right words to use. "That didn't feel like you." Izuku knew what he was talking about. Every fighter had a "signature" that was unique to them. Every person's body was built different, even before quirks, and that meant that everyone's body responded to movement differently. When he copied Anima, he didn't just copy the move; he copied his teacher's "signature", his tempo, his persona.

"It wasn't," He tried to answer in the way that made sense. "I couldn't see myself beating Todoroki's final blast, but I could Imagine Anima-sensei doing it, So I copied him to the best of my abilities." while most people in the room didn't understand the entirety of it, the martial artists did. Recovery Girl came in only a moment later.

"I'll need to talk to Midoriya-kun, so I need you kids to leave for now," she told the students. As soon they left to go watch (or attend) the match between Katsuki and Eijiro, the school nurse turned to her patient.

"There are a few scratches and a minor burn, but the worst injury is a minor fracture in your right Ulna. I can treat the fracture, but if I go any further, I'll drain too much of your stamina for you to keep going. Hold still." she instructed as she used her quirk on Izuku's arm. His eyes felt heavy suddenly, but he could stay awake for awhile longer. She finished treating his injuries and left the teen to talk with his mentors.

"I think you should stop right now." Izuku turned to Anima, surprised at his words.

"I can keep going though…" he reasoned, but the werewolf cut him off.

"It's not a matter of being able to, but that it's dangerous to. Look…" He took a seat to be at eye level with his disciple. "When I said 'You passed out from overusing your chi', that's not a good thing; it's your _life force_ , and to use it any further will cause you physical harm. I mean… even I can tell you're having trouble focusing." Anima hated the words he was saying, but he felt they needed to be said. Even Toshinori agreed with him, as overworking yourself past your limits could end up working against you.

Izuku stopped to think as he tried to come up with a solution to the two problems he was presented with; the inability to use his chi, and the fact he couldn't think straight.

"What if I don't use it? My chi, I mean." Anima gave a look of 'I don't like it, but continue', and the green haired teen did.

"The main problem is that I've used it too much, so if I don't use it anymore, then I'll be safe. My focus will still suffer, but I'll be able to fight." Toshinori couldn't understand why Izuku would go to such lengths in the competition, but he couldn't say he disapproved of that drive.

"I may not know about this subject as well as the two of you, but I have to side with young Midoriya on this one due to his sound logic." Anima honestly didn't know what he expected from arguing, but at least he made his opinion known. Giving a sigh, he gave consent.

"This only counts if the judges say you advance instead of Todoroki," he added before instructing his student to relax and regain what little energy he could and walked out of the room.

"Do you think I screwed up?" Toshinori looked at the prone teen who asked.

"Why would I think that?" the haggard man inquired.

"Even though I could have won the fight easier if I didn't, I couldn't stop seeing that look in Todoroki-san's eyes, and said all those words…" Izuku tilted his head down. He didn't know what he felt, as it wasn't 'regret'. He wanted to help, but there's a time and place to try. He could've urged him to Jesse or talked to him later about it, but for some reason, he chose then.

"As foolish as it was at the moment," Toshinori started. "You tried to help even your opponent when you saw him troubled. I can't berate you for that." the frail hero gave a warm smile before he sat closer to his inheritor.

"And you know what?" he asked. At Izuku shaking his head, he answered.

"'Butting your nose in' is one of the principle qualities of a good hero." Anima heard the cheesy line from beyond the door and shook his head in exasperation. 'But' he thought, 'the cheesy lines are told so many times because they're often true'.

* * *

Shouto was trying to find his way to Midnight. When he received help from a janitor, he knocked on the door to the room.

"Coming…" a voice, Midnight's by the tone, called from the other side. When the heroine opened the door to see the dual quirk user, she was mildly confused.

"May I please have a word?" the teen asked as politely as he could. Receiving a nod, he took a breath. 'This is harder than I thought' he voiced to himself before managing to speak the words he wanted.

"I'd like to give Midoriya the win from our draw, and let him continue." whatever Midnight thought he was going to say, he didn't. Though she found it odd, by the rules, she had to let him.

"Alright, but why?" Shouto had found it easier to explain his reasoning.

"He's given me a lot to think about, and I think it'll help me that I don't have anything distracting me while I figure things out. If you can, could you not mention that I asked when announcing this to the crowd? My old man would give me hell if he found out that I did this." He wasn't being hyperbolic, but the 18+ heroine didn't know that. She gave a slight smile.

"Sure thing. It'll probably be along the lines of 'Cementoss and I decided to have a tie-breaker backstage, and Midoriya-san won'." the Dual quirk user nodded in consent before making his way to the locker rooms. He didn't know why, but he found his steps lighter. Maybe tomorrow, he'd try going to Jesse for a therapy session; his classmates swore that it helped, and he didn't think it'd hurt to try.

* * *

Izuku had been woken up from his nap by Shouto.

"Your match is up next," he stated. Izuku, just waking up, had no clue what he was talking about.

"Wasn't there suppose to be a tie-breaker between us?" The scarred teen froze for a moment but decided to let his benefactor know.

"I didn't care to continue, so the judges made a story that we did while you rested up." The green haired teen was feeling more awake now, so he fully understood the explanation.

"I, um…" not knowing what to say, he decided to be simple. "Thank you, Todoroki-kun." There was an awkward silence between the two before Izuku tried to break it.

"Who will I be facing?"

"Iida-san. You should get ready." Izuku started running around the room while he got as ready as he could. When the announcer called him to waiting room #2, he turned to his previous opponent and bowed goodbye.

"Good luck." Shouto nodded in response.

* * *

"IT'S TIME FOR THE LAST OF THE SEMI-FINALS FOLKS! HERE WE HAVE TWO PEOPLE WHO RELY ON SPEED, SO BLINK AND YOU'LL MISS IT!" President Mic stormed up the crowd as the two friends walked in the arena.

"Let's do our best, Iida-kun." Izuku gave a bow.

"Of course, Midoriya." Tenya returned the gesture.

"START!"

At the signal, Tenya went into second gear as fast as he could as he ran at his opponent while Izuku braced himself. When they were close, the engine quirk user tried to grab the martial artist's shirt only to receive a punch right below the ribs. Izuku capitalized on his opponent's recovering form by going for a kick to his side, but it was narrowly dodged. Gathering some distance, Tenya tried again to gain the upper hand, but every time, the one with nine years of training had made it next to impossible. Deciding that it was all or nothing, Tenya used his trump card once again; Recipro Burst.

That was a mistake.

Running at his full speed would have been hard for many people to see him, let alone tag, but Izuku was a speedster as well. The speeding teen was stopped by a palm strike from an unmoving Izuku to his sternum. The pain was immense as his lungs forgot how to breathe through the coughing fits. Izuku put him in a more comfortable position while pinning him with little resistance. When his breath was under control once again, he managed to tap out. Letting go almost immediately and helping him to the stretcher, Izuku's worried look didn't go away. 'Call me a damn bleeding heart, this is my friend' he told himself.

"How did you do that?" finally, the engine quirk user had managed to work enough air through his system to ask the question he had on his mind.

"It's hard to turn when you move fast, so I used your momentum as the force in the strike. Hitting the sternum hard enough disrupts the lung's ability to work temporarily, so you felt like you were choking. Sorry, I was too harsh." the inheritor of One For All clasped his hands in apology.

"It's fine, but get first for me, will you? It'll soften the blow to my pride if I lost to the best." the two friends laughed at the half-joke, lightening the mood considerably. Now was just the fight between the oldest of the rivalries.

* * *

"WE REACH THE FINALE AT LAST! THE TOP STUDENT AMONGST THE FRESHMEN YEARS WILL BE DECIDED HERE! OUR FINAL MATCH, MIDORIYA VS BAKUGO! READY… START!" at the signal, Katsuki was charging in as fast as he could shouting his signature phase.

"DIE!" his explosions were no laughing matter, but Izuku stepped into the blond's guard. Grabbing his wrist, the martial artist threw his opponent over his shoulder. The explosive teen had coughed at the sudden loss of air. Throwing his palms outwards, he tried blowing up Izuku to find him retreating from the blast before it happened. Again and again, it was the same stalemate. Izuku could get a hit now and then, but Katsuki retaliated too quickly for anything else. The blonde was only getting glancing blows, but with his area of effect, it was enough.

"That's it! I'm gonna fucking finish this!" Katsuki bellowed before doing something Izuku hadn't seen before. The explosive teen shot himself into the air before his explosions trajectory caused him to spin.

"SCHNEIDER BOMB!" he used the spin to gain more energy before blowing half of the stage up. Izuku used his quirk to give him a burst of speed towards Katsuki. Throwing a blind roundhouse kick, the martial artist had surprisingly managed to hit his aerial opponent, though he didn't know where due to the smoke. The explosions had stopped, and when the dust settled, everyone knew why. The explosive blonde was clutching the inside of his thigh, where the kick had landed.

"D-due to Bakugo being unable to battle, Midoriya wins!" Midnight declared. neither contestant liked the outcome.

* * *

The rest of class 1-A was watching the award ceremony from the front row of the stadium. Izuku was trying to keep his calm, but everyone could tell that he never thought he'd make it that far by his nervousness.

"The hell's he…" Kyoka trailed off as she pointed at Katsuki.

"He's been like that since he recovered," Eijiro told her. The teen in question was restrained to a pillar of cement by multiple chains, up to and including a _muzzle_ , as he thrashed around enough the audience could hear the metal rattling.

"Third place could have gone to Iida as well, but he had to leave due to family circumstances. Please understand!" Midnight informed the crowd. Ochaco was clearly upset of what happened to her friend's brother, and by the looks of it, so was the number one freshman.

" **It is I!** " came a booming voice that everyone knew. " **And I am here with medal-** "

"Our hero, All Might!" Midnight accidentally spoke over him. After a small pause, the #1 hero continued.

" **Congratulations, Tokoyami my boy! You certainly are a tough customer!** " All Might then spoke a few words to the third place winner that no one could hear. Turning to Katsuki, he reached for the muzzle until Izuku shook his head.

"He's furious enough that he's not going to watch his words, and we're on live TV; little kids are watching." the teen reasoned.

" **Fair point…** " the symbol of peace admitted. " **Well, seeing as you loath second place, take this and bear it as a 'wound', so that you can strive to be better!** " Trying to salvage what little face he could for the chained teen, he asked for Cementoss to give him a hand as he put the medal around the contestant's neck. Leaving Katsuki to his flailing, All Might turned to Izuku.

" **Young Midoriya, congratulations for getting first in this tournament! Take this and continue to grow to new heights!** " The first place winner bowed his head to accept the gold medal, but his face was troubled.

"I will, but I can't help that I feel I won by a lucky shot…" Izuku admitted. The teen's idol gave him a pat on the shoulder and told him his thoughts.

" **A lucky hit it may have been, but sometimes, that's just what happens. If you still feel troubled, get to the point luck plays no role in your fights!** " the green haired teen nodded in thanks before All Might turned around.

" **AND THERE YOU HAVE IT! THIS YEAR, IT'S THESE THREE, BUT TAKE HEED FOLKS; THERE WAS A POSSIBILITY EVERYONE IN THIS ARENA TO STAND HERE! THE SEEDS OF HEROES WILL SURELY SPROUT FROM THE SEEDS PLANTED ON THIS DAY! AND TO ADD TO THAT SENTIMENT, I'LL ADD ONE MORE THING! EVERYBODY WITH ME NOW; GREAT WORK!** " At the end of the speech, there were many broken "plus ultra's" from the crowd at the hero's bad final words, which elicited a fair amount of disapproval. Up on the podium, Izuku knew that before the end of the day, Katsuki would give him hell for winning on chance.

* * *

"It was an impressive tirade." Anima was ruefully shaking his head at his disciple's understatement as they walked to the teen's house. The rant in question was fifteen minutes long and, from what he overheard with his enhanced hearing, was given the tenth place for the most colorful language Anima had borne witness to. Nothing compared to Oliver's hour-long oration about the fey being "acid-dropping toddlers", but it was definitely a solid ten.

"You have the patience of a saint. I'd have decked him by now if I was in your shoes, consequences be damned." the hero admitted. It was Izuku's turn to shake his head.

"Heroes don't pick fights," he chided.

"You're not a hero all the time; people will pick fights, and I'm a person. Deck 'im" the teen was laughing at his teacher's bad advice for a good minute, forcing them to stop. Gathering his composure, his face steeled as he decided to bring his worries to his mentor. Anima saw the change and acted accordingly; those eyes were for a hero, not a kid, and he treated his student like one when he saw them. The inheritor of One For All started the conversation in Italian.

"I, I hate to say this, but I think Todoroki-san's father is…" Izuku tried to find the words before he continued. "I think he's in an abusive household." even without projecting his aura, his rage was palatable to the point everyone stepped around the werewolf. In his first language, the two could talk in private while crowded with little worry of being overheard; answering in kind, the older of the two simply asked a question.

"I take it you want to give him an out, a safer place to rest?" if Izuku wanted his classmate to talk it out, he'd get the martial artist's wife, as it was her actual job to help. Both of them knew going after the #2 "hero" wasn't going to work unless the flame-user acted first, as he still had more publicity than the older hero. The only thing he could within reason was offering Shouto asylum within his abode. Izuku was mildly worried about his mentor saying no, but intellectually, he knew the chances were slim. His worries were unfounded, as his teacher said his next words.

"If he wants, Todoroki can stay at my place as long as he likes." Anima was a hero, and as he taught, it could be the little things that help the most. His house was more than big enough to comfortably house a dozen of people, so adding a third residence wouldn't do much; he couldn't think of a reason to say no to the request. Of course, it was entirely up to the scarred teen himself if he even wanted to, but the werewolf's doors were always open to those who needed it.

"Thank you," Izuku spoke softly, the steel in his face melting into a relieved smile.

Believe it or not, it was this last part that was giving me a headache more than anything. Thank you, Death of Snipers and Sang28 for your input, as you really did have the deciding factor for answering my question last authors note. Canon divergence is hard for this manga mainly because it's a school setting, and Izuku's skill can't change the curriculum the school has. Do not worry; I try to (and so far in successfully) read every review I get and take your words into consideration! question for you to decide; I'm thinking of writing an omake, but do you want it as an interlude, or do you want me to make it on another story?Till next time!


	13. The Next Steps For Heroes

Izuku was on the train going to school. Thankfully given the two days off of school to recharge after the festival, he was feeling a sense of elation.

"Hey, it's you!" a random person called out to the teen. "Congratulations on winning the sports festival!" his words caused many others to turn their attention towards him, then everyone was starting to talk at once. He couldn't hear anything over so many voices talking over each other to him, so he just put his head down to nod. He knew that winning the festival would grant some notoriety, but the sheer amount of recognition was overwhelming. Grateful that the train's stop was his, the green haired teen quickly bolted from the train car and into the rain. After Izuku calmed down enough to slow down, he realized that there was another set of splashing feet. Turning around, Tenya was running up from behind in a poncho and rain boots.

"What are you doing walking leisurely Midoriya? We'll be late!" kicked into gear by his friend's words, Izuku started running by his side.

"We're five minutes early though.." the green haired teen commented before he heard his friend's reasoning.

"The baseline for students worthy of UA is to start the day _ten_ minutes early!" laughing at the ridiculous logic, the two were sprinting for UA's entrance. Arriving at the entrance, the heroes-in-training set their rain gear in the designated lockers.

"Hey, Iida?" Izuku decided to bring his concerns to his friend.

"Hmm?" the engine quirk user turned to his companion as they walked to homeroom.

"How's he doing? Your brother, I mean." the atmosphere turned heavy for a brief moment. When the silence was growing long, Tenya had gathered his emotions.

"He's lost feeling in his legs, and the doctor says he won't be able to fully use them even after surgery; he can't be a hero anymore." the heavy feeling tried to turn oppressive, but the martial artist wouldn't allow it.

"Bullshit." Tenya was shocked at his friend's foul words. "Before my quirk came in I was planning on being a quirkless hero, so what's stopping him from being a disabled one?" Izuku's words struck a chord with Tenya. He remembered that his classmate's quirk didn't manifest until nine months before the exam, but he decided to be a hero when he was in primary school; it was the reason he turned to martial arts in the first place. It would be a long road, but his brother could still be a hero. His steps became a small bit lighter after he processed the words he was given.

"Thank you, Midoriya." his smile lightened the mood, and Izuku brightened it further with a million watt smile and mild chi projection. When the duo walked into the classroom, everyone else could feel the fluffiness the two had brought in the room.

"What happened to you two?" Mina teased. Forgetting to keep his chi going, Izuku was getting timid at his classes gaze. Shrinking into his seat, Tenya answered for him.

"Midoriya was trying to cheer me up from a family problem." they were saved more questions when Aizawa stepped into the room with a half hearted "good morning class". Everyone had found their seats almost instantly, not willing to incur the teacher's ire.

"Today, we'll be formulating your hero names." the class had gone into an uproar and Aizawa continued after they calmed down. The homeroom hero told them about the nominations. The nominations were usually balanced, but due to outside reasoning, many had nominated Izuku, Shouto, and Katsuki easily over ten times as much as anyone else. There were a few who didn't even get a nomination, which made it harder to get "work experience" as their teacher called it. When the subject went back to hero names, Anima walked into the door.

"The hero names you pick now can stick with you pretty much forever, so choose carefully." he calmly stated.

"As I have been told I have no naming sense, Anima is going to evaluate them for you." Aizawa lazily said as he picked up his sleeping bag to sleep in the corner.

"I still don't know why you chose me over Midnight. My hero name literally means 'wolf' in Gaelic." Anima sighed before continuing.

"Anyway, even if I'm okay with the name, the public may not like it as much; there have been cases where the populace had renamed a hero based on their actions, so take that into account. You have fifteen minutes until I start calling people."

* * *

After the fifteen minutes, Yuga was the first to show his name.

"I can not stop twinkling!" the class should have been surprised, but they really weren't. Anima shook his head as he shot the idea down.

"Hero names are short and to the point, not an entire sentence. I'll call you again when I go around." next up was Mina, but her first idea didn't work either.

"'Alien Queen' is copyrighted, so it won't fly." she returned to her seat in a sour mood, but the teacher's next words picked her up.

"If it's really hard to come up with a name, look at different languages or mythology. You'd be surprised how many heroes find inspiration there." many students brought out their phones. Tsuyu just presented at her seat.

"I've known since primary school." she informed as she showed the name 'Froppy'. She was given the okay by the teacher, so it went to the next person.

"Here's mine! Red Riot!" Kirishima proudly shouted.

"I take it that's an homage to Crimson Riot?" the werewolf smiled when his student nodded.

"It's kinda retro, but he's what I'm aiming for when I think of a hero." Anima gave a small chuckle at the hardening teen.

"Retro's fine," he assured. "My costume is designed after the Italian Carabinieri uniform, and they were formed in 1726. I will warn you though; with a name like that, people will compare you to him." Kirishima grinned at the challenge. More names were presented with varying degrees of success.

"I had this name since middle school, sorry." Koji apologized about his hero name 'Anima'.

"It's fine. I take it you took the latin name for animal?" Anima received a nod.

"I may change it now that I've met you, but I don't know what." the shy student admitted.

"Bestia is a Latin synonym for anima; do you want to go for that?" Koji smiled before writing it down. Katsuki was up next, and his name was shot down nearly instantly.

"One, 'explodo-kills' isn't something people look up to, but fear. Two, like with Aoyama-san, it's too long. I'll come back to you." the explosive teen gritted his teeth, but took the criticism. Ochaco showed her whiteboard and received a thumbs up from the teacher.

"Iida-san, do you want to go up next?" Anima questioned before the engine quirk user nodded.

"Unlike others, my name was unfortunately last minute." he stated while showing them; he wrote down 'Ingenerate'.

"It fits you well. I take it the naming sense is similar to Ingenium?" Tenya nodded as Anima nodded before turning his head towards Izuku. The inheritor of One For All was the only one who hadn't gone yet. He lifted the board to show what he came up with.

"Isn't that what Bakugo calls you as an insult?" Mashirao asked. The name on the board was 'Deku'.

"Yeah, but since Uraraka-san changed the meaning for me. If I make it my hero name, no one can use it against me." his words caused the class to clap for him. Even Anima joined in for a few seconds.

"Alright, for those of you I asked to reconsider your name, please come up with what you made." Yuga came to the front again and showed his rewrite.

"I'll take it." the werewolf allowed the name 'Captain Sparkles' from the blonde. Mina had changed hers to 'Pinky', which was fine by him, though he noted her name was bound to be changed by the public. she was fine with that.

"Better," Anima told Katsuki after the third attempt. His board read 'Nitro', which while unimaginative, worked for him well.

"Alright!" Anima clapped his hands together. "Now that everyone has a hero name, I'm giving you all back to Aizawa-san for the rundown of your field training." as the werewolf said those words, the homeroom teacher came out of his sleeping bag.

* * *

When class had ended, Anima called Shouto to the side while sending Tenya out to fetch some paperwork. When Izuku opened the door for his friend, a nervous-looking All Might was there. After the large hero had taken his inheritor, for reasons Anima didn't know, it was only him and the scarred teen.

"What do you want to talk about?" Shouto asked politely. He liked the teacher, but they didn't know each other enough for him to expect this.

"Izuku told me some things about your home situation." the martial artist let the words sink in before continuing. "I'm just going to ask you outright; do you want to move out of the Todoroki house?" the dual-quirk user had noticed that the teacher didn't call his old man by his hero name or any parental terms. It was an unneeded gesture, but a thoughtful one.

"Where would I go? I don't have the resources to rent an apartment for…" his words dwindled as Anima gave a dry look as if to say 'are you dumb?' to him.

"I own a rather sizable property, and if it's to help a student of mine, I'm more than willing to let you stay in the guest room until something more permanent is worked out." Shouto was surprised. Not for the fact that anima owned a large house (though with the price of land in Japan, it was impressive), but because he saw no goal in this other than helping.

"My old man would raise hell." he reasoned.

"There is nothing he can do to me, legal or otherwise. The only thing I asked you was if you want to do this. Let me handle the headache." Anima was having none of it. He had centuries worth of income gathering and stocks; he was the one percent of the one percent. As for resorting to physical altercations… nothing the number 2 "hero" could do was going to be new to the werewolf. Shouto looked down.

"I can't, not while I'm going to his hero office." It wasn't the tone of someone who created glaciers in mere moments; this was the cracking voice of a kid who didn't think someone gave a damn about him and was finding out he was wrong. Anima carefully hugged his silently crying student.

"You don't have to do it all at once. My doors will always be opened for you or your family if you want to take me up on the offer." he was tracing circles on Shouto's back. When the tears dried up, they planned on moving the teen immediately after the field training period.

"Midoriya must've gotten it from you," he said before leaving. "Helping just to help, I mean." he heard Anima laughing.

"He didn't, he was doing that even before we met. It's why I decided to teach him; the will to help, even to your own detriment, is what's known as 'the hero's will'. It's what symbols of peace are made from." the door closed behind the teen just as he heard the last sentence.

* * *

Izuku was at the station saying his goodbyes to his classmates when he got on the train towards the area Gran Torino was residing. His mind was wandering to the retired hero. Who was he? what was he like? What can I learn from him? More questions came into his mind before he decided to answer them. He pulled his phone out to look up some of his heroic exploits. The vast majority of his videos showed that he was a movement based fighting hero, rather than a rescue hero. The green haired teen went into analysis as soon as he saw the small hero double jump. Over the next few videos, he figured that Torino's quirk was a gas emission quirk, which made it easy for the lithe man to move in a three-dimensional space.

He got off the train on his stop and walked to the address he was given. When he saw the decrepit building, he had to remind himself that Gran Torino was in his late sixties to early seventies; of course he didn't have a hero agency. He knocked on the door to the retired hero's apartment, only to not get an answer. He opened the door gingerly.

"H-hello? My name is Midoriya Izuku. You nominated me from UA…" his voice fell as he saw a person lying face-down in something red. Forgetting formalities, he rushed to the man's side with his first aid kit.

"Sir, Are you okay!?" he went to check for a pulse, only for the small man to bolt up.

"I'm Alive!" he shouted, making the teen jump. It was then Izuku saw his face. Though his age showed, he was definitely Gran Torino.

The retired hero saw the kid coming from the window, and got ready; if this was Toshinori's kid, he wanted to screw with him. He got the ketchup and spilled it on the floor before planting himself on the floor. When he heard the kid open the door, he almost twitched. He heard a small scuffling sound as the kid dashed forward.

"Sir, are you okay!?" the kid's voice was worried, but he didn't panic. Gran Torino bolted up to scare him and give him a quick appraising look. He saw the semi-transparent box with a red cross in the kid's hand with his bag off to the side. 'His first reaction was to help someone he didn't know' Gran gave Izuku mental points for good habits. The retired hero kept playing the senile role, even going as far as calling the kid Toshinori, until Izuku spoke his mind.

"You're acting, aren't you?" he rhetorically asks. Caught off guard, Gran looked at the kid.

"Wad'ya mean?" the elderly man acted upset, thinking that the green haired teen was trying to use reverse psychology.

"Your eyes, they're too sharp for insanity." Seeing Izuku spoke with such surety, Gran froze. 'Kid's sharper than he looks' he noted. He looked him in the eye and saw confidence, but not arrogance. He decided to try again with his question.

"You never did answer me; who are you?" he saw the thought click, and heard the answer.

"Oh, I'm Deku, a martial artist who wants to be a hero." Izuku's voice carried a certain weight behind them, making the old man smile.

"Then put on the costume, youngun!" if this is what Toshinori's protege was made of, then it'll be fast teaching him the ropes.

* * *

Like usual, the last stretch was the hardest to write. Tenya's hero name 'Ingenerate' literally means to make or generate, but I think it works for him. I got the name from the word of the day on my dictionary app. I'm making my first shoutout to ShiningStar32; I'm glad that I made the Italian readable! Questions, comments, criticisms? Let me know; I love hearing about new ways to improve. Till next time!


	14. Compassion

Izuku was struck in the back once more; he lost count after the eighth time. Gran Torino was bouncing off the walls and hitting the teen in his blind spots. Even though he hadn't needed to use it in years, the retired hero's quirk was as dangerous as ever. Izuku was learning the old man's movements and started to come up with a pattern. When he lost sight of the small man, he waited only for a moment. When the green haired teen heard the 'woosh' of air behind him, he turned.

"You're trying to get a pattern, huh. Not a bad idea," Gran Torino commented before he jumped over the teen's grasping hand. "But cha got ways to go from there." he finished before sending a roundhouse at the student. When the blow landed, the elderly hero knew something was up.

'Kicks don't feel like that' he thought as his foot decelerated when it was a centimeter away from the teen's body. His momentary shock was enough for Izuku to attempt another grab, but with another blast of air, the retired hero got away.

"That your original quirk?" he asked with trepidation. Izuku shook his head.

"Quirkless," he stated. "Did I pass?" the question hung in the air for a moment.

"The hell do ya mean? Ya didn't touch me." Izuku didn't say anything, but held his hand to show otherwise; in the teen's hand was Gran Torino's yellow cape. There was a pregnant pause as the retired hero checked his collar that the mantle was attached to prior.

"Huh, well ain't that a thing." he deadpanned before taking a seat. He gave a hard glare before he asked what was on the old man's mind.

"Alright, where the hell d'ya learn how to fight like that?" when Izuku started talking about it, Gran Torino had only one thought.

'Leave it to Toshi to pick a kid that already has a mentor.'

* * *

The next day, Gran and Izuku spent the morning in a discussion about quirk usage.

"From the videos I've seen, your jet quirk only had a limited amount of thrust, so I'm trying to find the factor that accounts for that. It probably involves-" the teen was starting to mutter until the retired hero brought him out.

"Lung capacity" he started "Jet takes the air from my lungs, so it's been awhile since I could use the blasts I used ta as a young man." Izuku took this information and brought his hero notebook #14 to record it. When Gran looked over the teen's shoulder to look, he was shocked if not irritated.

"O-oh, sorry if you can't read it" Izuku apologized. "Chinese characters can hold a little more meaning than Japanese ones, so I write my hero and school notes in Chinese instead."

"Are there any other ones ya know that I don't?"

"I learned Chinese, English, Italian, and a little Spanish. Anima-sensei taught me Chinese calligraphy as a way for me to learn control, and I asked to learn more languages after a while." Izuku gave a shy smile as he scratched the back of his head. Gran was impressed with the kid's effort. learning any language was hard, but the green-haired teen could switch between four in his mind in his mind. The old hero walked up to the sink to put the plate away before turning his head towards his nomination.

"Suit up, kid. We're going on patrol today, and it'll be in Shibuya. There's more trouble there for you to get the gist of a heroes patrol work." Izuku nodded earnestly. It was time to be a hero.

* * *

Deku figured out that it was supposed to be a nighttime patrol when he saw the arrival time; the cover of darkness would cover up a lot, even in a city as bright as the metropolitan area. His repaired costume had something that he lacked previously, thanks to Anima and All might recommending it. It was a utility belt for miscellaneous things like cash, his phone, a thermal blanket, and the capture tape that any hero nowadays had for suppressing quirks. He appreciated them for looking out for their disciple. The teen was thankful the train had a charging port for his phone so he could research the area while not having to worry about his only communication device running out of battery, though he received some flak for being on his phone from Gran Torino. When Shibuya station was called, he and Gran Torino got out of the train to find it raining.

"Ah well. Criminals won't be as common, but we'll still patrol because we're here" Gran Torino looked at the rain in scorn before preparing to get drenched. They took the back alleys the patrol route to make it more likely to come across a villain. They only came across a young girl in a short dress. Her face looked to be in her late twenties, but Deku could tell that she was younger than that by the amount of makeup that came off her face.

"Hey, do one of you want a good time?" her voice was barely audible over the rain, and both heroes could tell she didn't want to be there; she was probably forced to by someone else as no one wanted to be in the rain, let alone in that revealing clothing. Deku walked over to her and pulled some money from his belt. Gran Torino was shocked that the kid was going to take her up on the offer, but his nominated hero dashed the idea with his next words.

"Let's get you out of this rain and somewhere safe. How about we go to a nearby restaurant. I'll pay for the time if you need it, but you look like you could use a hand more than anything." the young girl was apprehensive, but with a small smile and a projection of chi, the hesitation was gone.

* * *

That night wasn't good for getting a paycheck due to the rain, but when she looked back on that day, she was glad she decided to go out in the downpour that night. It started as any other night, but she needed a client soon; Nin'i would be collecting the debt in a week.

It was a cold and rainy night, but she tried to endure. She was probably going to catch a cold, but it didn't matter. Soon enough, she heard footsteps and got in a seductive pose her 'co-worker' Nami once taught her. Her hopes fell when she saw the costumes. If she was lucky, they would ignore her or take her, but if not, there was a good chance she would be sent to the police station.

"Hey, do one of you want a good time?" she asked, knowing it wasn't a good idea. The old man would have lost his drive by how aged he looked, but if she could get the young boy, then she could earn enough until next month. It also didn't hurt that she thought he was cute; if she had to have "those" activities, she preferred it to someone her age. Her hopes were brought up when she saw the green haired boy pull some money from his belt and walking towards her. The words he spoke to her when he held out the money were not what she expected though.

"Let's get you out of this rain and somewhere safe. How about we go to a nearby restaurant. I'll pay for the time if you need it, but you look like you could use a hand more than anything." she didn't know what to do. The other girls told her that any offer like that would be a trap, but it was coming from a hero. Weren't heroes suppose to help anyone?

She wasn't sure until she saw him smile.

His smile was so pure, so innocent, so clear in the intent of wanting to truly help, that she swore he was glowing. With a smile like that, she felt like she was already safe and protected, and it made her feel awful inside. Here she was, an illegal prostitute trying to earn a few bills from a hero, while he only wanted to help. It made her aware of how dirty she was. She thought the rain would hide her tears, but they apparently didn't as the green-clad hero came to give her a hug. She tensed for a moment, but when he made no move other than comforting her by rubbing her upper back, she held on tight and cried. Every emotion, every feeling that she pushed down to not feel the pain came out. Her choking sobs rang in the alley as the green hero only held tighter. he felt like her older brother when he was well; when he wasn't struck by lymphoma and in the hospital with racking coughs and burning temperatures. It was nothing like the cold hands of the loan shark or Nin'i. When she had nothing left to cry, she felt the hero start to gently put her down, but she only gripped him.

"Could… could you just hold me a little longer?" she pleaded with a sore voice.

"Of course. Just let me know when you want to go inside." he calmly told her. When she finally let go, the green hero asked the old hero he was with- Gran Torino he called him- for his cape, which the two then covered her shoulders with as they walked to the restaurant.

'Onii-chan' she thought in her head. 'I met a real hero, and he saved me.'

* * *

When Deku got the small group a booth in the corner of the diner, he ignored the scornful glances he was given for helping who was technically a criminal. He first ordered tea and a shake for the young woman, who he figured was in his age range, before asking for some tea himself.

"Why were you out in the rain?" he decided to start with a heavy question.

"Do you really not know? I'm one of "those" girls. You know what I'm talking about." she sounded remorseful in her response. The green-clad hero shook his head.

"I didn't ask _what_ you were doing, I'm asking _why_? You don't seem like you wanted to be there, so why were you?" he hated asking, but he wanted to know how he could help, or even _if_ he could. When he saw her shoulders shaking, he hurriedly corrected himself.

"A-ah, y-you don't have to tell me if you find it too hard!" he picked up a napkin to hand to her as she wiped her tears.

"No, it's… it's just that it's been so long since someone cared," she told him. The young girl explained everything; the fact she lived alone with her brother until he got sick, that she got targeted by a loan shark, and that after she couldn't pay with part-time jobs he practically sold her to a pimp.

"I wanna run, but If I do, then onii-chan would… onii-chan would-" her thoughts were cut off as Deku knocked his chair over to hug her again.

"It must've been hard." he managed to get out as he silently cried for the girl he met not twelve minutes ago. When he managed to get his emotions under control again, he sat down and let a wry chuckle escape.

"I'm sorry. I'm crying for someone when we haven't even introduced ourselves; I'm Deku, a student at UA trying to be a hero." he gave a small smile as he projected his chi again to calm her down.

"Ha-Hadena… I'm a ninth grader at Shōtō middle," she answered shyly. Deku found her situation even worse after the fact she was younger than him. He resolved himself to help in any way he could.

* * *

After some light conversation and food arriving to help her feel better, the two heroes and the rescued victim walk to the battered woman's shelter closest to them and had the police come to take statements. When they brought a specialist, they gathered enough evidence to go arrest the ringleader. When Deku was getting ready to leave, he came up to Hadena. With a small piece of paper

"Here. The group doesn't advertise much in Japan, but the doctors in the group take difficult medical cases for cheap. Give them a call. They even have a couple people who know Japanese as well, so language isn't a problem." the slip of paper had a number, a website, and the organization's name: Kane Remedium. It was started by the Oliver Kane, a deceased member of the Outliers by the hero name Arcane: a sorcerer and a surgeon that specialized in treating injured and ill people with bizarre quirks. Hadena Looked at the slip of paper thoroughly so she could remember even if she lost it before putting it in the most secure place she had. She then ran into his chest in another hug.

"Thank you…" she whispered softly. Deku petted her head softly.

"It's what a hero would have done. It's why I've been trying hard to be one." she looked up to the green-clad hero.

"But you already are. You're my hero." her words made the older teen smile as she let go and ran off to get something. Gran Torino came up soon after Hadena left.

"I gotta admit Deku, yer more than talk. Even many pro heroes would've just let her fall through the cracks, myself included." the elderly hero was being completely honest. He had no shame admitting it, but he became a hero for personal reasons and nothing else. Looking at the kid help a complete stranger like it was the most natural thing in the world was a sight to see. Toshinori wore his fake smile like a shield to act as a shield, but Deku used his as a blanket of comfort. It was similar, but the ninth user of One For All wore the smile naturally. the kid wore his heart on his sleeve, and held no shame in that fact.

"I'm not that great. She just looked like she needed a hand, so I gave her mine. I've got two after all." the duo chuckled at the bad joke. When Hadena came back, she was holding a clipboard and pen. She held them out to the green hero.

"Could I get an autograph from you? I know you aren't a hero yet, but…" she trailed off shyly, making Deku smile once more.

"Only if you promise to be there when I graduate," he said jokingly before he wrote his name to her. Her smile made Deku's look dim by comparison in the hero's mind. He knew he did good.

* * *

Writing this chapter made me misty eyed to the point of having to take a break, but I felt it were tears well spent. I find that it's small moments like these are fun to write. for any interested, Hadena is Japanese for 'flower' and 'colorful' while Nin'i means 'free will' and 'pleasure'... so you can imagine someone with a street name like that. If you like it or think I could do better, give me a review; I do read every single one I've received with joy. Till Next time!


	15. Means To An End

This chapter is more of an interlude for the villain's side, so it's noticeably shorter than my usual 2-3K words, topping about 1300 or so. On the plus side, I could get this out faster!

* * *

Tomura was having a shit day. He tried to put the pieces together about how he started from recruiting Stain to having a big ass knife in his shoulder courtesy of the aforementioned villain. He was going on about some bullshit of " needing a creed and mind to do anything". He eventually had enough and disintegrated the blade in his shoulder.

"You're awfully talkative." the red-eyed teen stated in a sing-song voice. "A conviction? A Creed? I don't care for anything so dramatic. I just want to destroy the current peace that the heroes have and burn it to the ground!" Tomura took a swipe at Stain, but the hero killer jumped away before he could even touch him.

"Fuck! Where's Archibald when you need him? He's the designated healer for shit like this!" the leader of the league complained as he remembered the injuries the crazy magus had healed before. Stain went on a rant about how he had "the sprouts of a crooked creed" and bullshit like that. When it was confirmed that Stain would, in fact, make a temporary alliance with the League of Villains, the two who brought him were glad to get rid of him. Right on queue for the hero killer's departure, the so-named 'healer' walked in leisurely before giving a glance at Tomura; more specifically, his wound.

"That-that w-will b-be fine w-with a couple, a couple of spells. N-n-now th-then, St-t-tain, was it? O-or do y-you pre-pref-fer Ch-Chizome?" the hero killer tensed when the (apparent?) Madman's tone shifted. Archibald walked over to Tomura and held his pale hand to the teen's shoulder. A calm green light came from his palm as the wound knitted itself closed.

"W-w-would you In-in-indulge m-me in a, in a walk? I'd li-like to t-t-talk i-ideals, ideals with y-you." His calm smile made Kurogiri shudder.

* * *

Stain knew that the man who pulled him away wasn't insane as his stuttering voice would lead you to believe. His gait was filled with confidence, his black dress vest and brown coat were well ironed, but what convinced him was the _aura_ of collected control he had. Stain almost felt like a puppet under Archibald's gaze, and he hated it; his entire style was making sure everything he did would give him the most control possible, and the way it felt like he had none was nerve-wracking.

"So," the hero killer started roughly in his tone. "You wanted to talk ideals? You heard mine, so what are yours?" there was a small laugh from the well-dressed man.

"I-i-i'm going-going to beat _death_." The five-word sentence made the hall seem to drop in temperature. "T-there's, there's so much in this, this world to ex-explore, that m-mere, _mere mortality_ will hinder me." Archibald's voice was brimming with venom at the limited time he had.

"You'll die eventually." Stain reasoned. "Unless there's a quirk that prevents aging, you can't beat death. Even then, just because age wouldn't kill you, doesn't mean nothing could." Stain's words echoed in the hall as the mage was shaking. Stain initially thought the shaking was due to fear, or even hysteria, but when the pale mage looked up, he only saw one emotion; _Fury_.

"You, you you youyou YOU. KNOW. NOTHING ABOUT SUCH MATTERS!" Archibald's tumult reverberated in the corridor as his magic filled the air. The mystic energies made Stain feel like he was choking in boiling water as the room creaked under the pressure. "I HAVE BEEN RESEARCHING IMMORTALITY FOR A HUNDRED AND NINETY YEARS! IN BRITAIN, RIGHT NOW, THERE IS A MAN WHO HAS BEEN AROUND DURING THE LATE SIXTEENTH CENTURY! I HAVE SHATTERED MY SOUL WITH EXPERIMENTS! I WILL NOT LET YOUR IGNORANCE BELITTLE MY RESEARCH BECAUSE YOUR MIND CANNOT GRASP THAT THESE SO CALLED "QUIRKS" ARE ONLY A FRACTION OF THE POWERS MANKIND HAS HAD CONTROL OVER SINCE THEY WALKED ON HIND LEGS!" the magic that Archibald was emanating started to make the walls twist in unnatural ways before he reigned his temper in. when the world was back to normal and not trying to tear itself apart, the magus gave an inquisitive sound.

"It-it s-seems that the-the loss of my temp-temper had tem-temp-porarily f-f-fixed my sp-sp-speech i-i-impedi-diment, impediment." he turned to his walking companion with a gaze of pleasure.

"S-since y-y-you threw m-my night-nightmares i-in my face, l-l-let me _return the favor!_ "

* * *

Stain was no longer in the hallway of the bar. He was in the street, with All might hovering over him with raised fists.

"I want to fall by you, so go ahead," the hero killer smiled serenely, but the #1 hero stopped and turned to see a man in a business suit with a suitcase of money. With words that Stain couldn't hear, he saw the thing he never wanted to see; All might took the suitcase and threw his cape to the side. Chizome saw the hero walk past kids and fans without batting an eye or showing his signature smile.

His idol was bought out.

The scene changed to his hero fighting a villain, though his details were vague. The villain seemed to own multiple quirks as he worked with everything from super strength to pyrokinesis to teleportation. Near the end of the fight, the villain punched into All Might's side. The punch blew large pieces of flesh off the hero's body before they started converging inward to heal incorrectly. Chizome couldn't move. He couldn't wrap his head around the idea All Might could be hurt like that.

He felt like crying.

The last vision was his hero in the hospital, coughing blood and losing his life. He saw the ECG flatline as All Might lied in his own blood-

* * *

"H-how was it?" Archibald's words rang on deaf ears as Stain was gasping on his knees as he found himself in the foyer again. He grabbed his katana and swung blindly at the pale magus, only for the walls themselves intercepting the steel. The sensation and sound of metal biting into wood calmed him down; it was ironic that the blade many heroes fell to and feared was giving the murderer comfort.

"N-n-now th-that we-we're even, let-let-let me tell y-you s-s-someth-thing." Archibald held his hand out to the kneeling killer.

"I-i'm on-on-only with th-the l-l-lea-league for re-resources. They-they're m- _means to an end_ , l-like they-they are f-for you. If-if you m-make a d-d-deal with m-me, I'd help y-you when the, when the league's con-contract-ct ends."

When the hero killer saw the advantage, he thought the favor he was being asked was simple, and he reached for the madman's hand.

* * *

Fiara was patrolling in Aomori for his mandatory hero work for his license when his phone alerted him. He turned the screen on to find that spell slinger, an information broker's alias, had told him there was apparently something going on in Hosu tomorrow that involved an organized villain group. If he skipped patrol, then the work he and Nedzu put in together would go to waste, so he sent the info along. Hopefully, he and his mentor could go where he could not.

* * *

Izuku got a text from Anima saying that something big was supposed to go down in Hosu, so he asked Gran Torino.

"Eh? If the info's good, then that means there'll be a lot of villains there. Let's make it a trip then." Izuku gave a nod of appreciation before sending the info on to his classmates. If they could save lives by coordinating, then the more people prepared, the better.


	16. Hosu

What's this? A new chapter so soon? Well, my sleep schedule is shot to hell right now, and as I've said before, sleep deprivation is apparently a reliable way for me to barrel through writer's block and I upload as soon as I have a finished product. So to everyone involved, Enjoy!

* * *

Shouto was patrolling the streets with Endeavor once again. It was a nice day, with a warm sun and a cool breeze. He hadn't seen any villain activity, but with the notification that Izuku sent, he was expecting that to change.

"Are you sure the info you got was accurate? Wasting time on rumors won't get us anywhere." the #2 "hero" asked his offspring.

"Deku said it came from Fiara's contacts, so it's only inaccurate if the informant was misled." the dual quirk user said without hesitation. If either of those two said that something was up, he'd act accordingly; they never joked about the safety of others.

"Deku? Fiara?" Endeavor didn't recognize the names. "Are they classmates of yours?"

"Deku is; I lost to him in the festival, remember?" Shouto watched his old man grimace at the memory with satisfaction. It was odd to him that losing that fight felt better than winning.

"And Fiara?"

"He substitutes for All Might in foundational hero studies and is the club teacher for martial arts. I heard he finally got his hero license, so he should rise in the ranks soon." Shouto stated simply, causing the flaming man to turn his head.

"Wait, you mean that Fiara was-" an explosion a few blocks away cut the "hero's" thoughts off. The two started running towards the danger only to find something shouto didn't want to imagine.

Two Nomu.

At least that's what he thought at first before he reevaluated the situation. One had a gas mask under it's exposed brain and a pale skin with wings as opposed to the black hide that the ape-like Nomu at the USJ had. The other one there was darker skinned, but it had no eyes and red lines on its body in odd places.

"Hey, Todoroki! Slow them down!" looking at the heroes on site, the dual quirk user saw the person the voice belonged to.

"I'll ground the airborne one, but you'll have to keep it there for a few seconds, Ingenerate." even under his classmate's helmet, he could feel the smile the engine user had when he planned with a classmate. Shouto launched a shotgun of ice shards at the airborne Nomu, causing it to fall to the ground. Ingenerate sped in and started to keep the monster off balance long enough for his classmate to encase it up to its hips in ice. While they and other heroes worked on restraining the winged Nomu (manual making it easier by using the water from a hydrant to give todoroki more to work with), Endeavor had neutralized the larger one with blue flames.

"I hate to admit it, but your father is strong," Ingenerate said bluntly. Shouto nodded in agreement. The two students heard their phones go off at the same time. Checking it, they saw that Deku had given them his location with no context.

""Something's up!"" they chorused. Ingenerate turned to Manual quickly.

"Sir! An acquaintance of mine is requesting assistance. Permission to assist?" the hydro-hero looked over to the saluting teen and gave him his decision.

"Granted, and take someone with you!" the engine quirk user pointed to Shouta, who had just gotten permission from Endeavor, with a promise of backup when they finish here. Shouta grabbed Ingenerate's shoulder and put a layer or ice on his feet to burden the speedster less. The duo bolted for the place marked on the GPS.

* * *

Deku and Gran Torino had split up. 'I'm giving you free range to do what you can, so don't get killed.' for the elderly hero, those were as close as one would get for trusting words. Gran had gone to the area near the tracks while the green hero had gone towards the area near the hero offices. He took back alleys to ensure he could move unimpeded with One For All. He heard faraway explosions, but before he could run to the source of the noise, the hero heard a raspy voice.

"So damn noisy, so the dumbass arrived then. I'll dispose of him later. Until then, I'm doing what I gotta do." he ran towards the alley the voice came from and saw a terrifying sight; Stain, the hero killer, was holding the hero Native to the wall with an o katana poised to kill. Without thinking, the green haired hero-in-training rushed in to save the pro hero. His knee connected with Stain's jaw, sending him a good couple meters away.

"Are you okay enough to escape?" he asked native, only to hear the worst words in that situation.

"I can't move, it must be his quirk." the pro was shocked but thankful to see any form of help. The hero killer stood upright before brandishing his sword.

"Can't say I like the idea of killing a kid," he said in a dull tone. "Get out of here, this is no place for a child." Stain's words made Deku think as he texted his friends where he was behind his back.

'If he doesn't kill indiscriminately, then maybe I can buy some time until his quirk wears off of native.' with a plan in mind, he took a stance in between the murderer and the incapacitated hero.

"I'm scared to say I can't do that." his voice was shaking, and it was probably going to crack sooner or later, but he held his ground. "After all, 'butting your nose in one of the principle qualities of a hero'" Stain gave a leering smile at his words.

"I like that attitude, I should let you live to be a real hero, unlike the counterfeits like him," he motioned his head towards Native. "that plague today's society." Deku was, thankfully, getting more to work with as the conversation progressed.

"Counterfeits? A hero's job is to help the public. If they do that, what makes them fake?" Stain's eyes turned dark at the teen's logic.

"Have you heard of heroes before the career, when the very term was synonymous with 'vigilante'? A hero should be selfless, putting his life on the line without expectation for a reward. Fakers wearing the title today are only those who use the career to get money or fame. I'll purge this society of the filth that _stains_ that honored title!" Stain rushed forward as he spoke his creed, causing Deku to respond by mirroring the murderer. The hero killer swung the pitted o katana in a wide arc, but it was unrefined compared to the training the hero in green had. Deku used his chi to block the initial impact before holding onto the blade with his thick-gloved hand as firmly as he could. The pitted blade caught in the fibers of the glove and with that, coupled with the strong grip, the blade didn't have enough give to do a draw-cut and cause any damage to the teen. With the killer's primary weapon immobilized, Deku came in to step on the arch and ankle of the villain, but Stain reacted fast enough. The hero killer let go of his sword and backed away before throwing a knife at the martial artist. Deku dodged by a hair's breadth before he swore he heard the voices of saints.

"Deku, we have come to your aid!"

"Give more context next time you send us something. Now we're late."

* * *

Stain wasn't sure if he was having a good day, or a bad one. One one hand, he was being prevented from Purging the false-hero Native by kids, while on the other hand, the kids in question seemed to have the mindset of proper heroes and would make the next generation better than the current. It was ironic that the son of the #1 faker and the brother of the hero he put out of commission were two of those real heroes. He hated leaving a job half finished, but with the hero they called Deku being better at close quarters combat, that Todoroki kid giving long-range support, and Ingenerate beating him in speed, he was at a serious disadvantage, especially since he lost his primary weapon.

He threw a knife at Shouto, leaving a small blood trail. He was trying to get his bloodied instruments in a position he could grab them and it didn't seem they understood that yet. When he got close enough to pick a knife with the dual quirk user's blood off the ground, he quickly licked the blade. The kid hit the ground fast, but he wasn't done yet.

"Todoroki!"

"His quirk involves ingesting blood!" unfortunately, Deku figure it out almost instantly when he saw it in action. Stain rushed at Deku when he focused more on his companion than the opponent in front of him, hoping to get two heroes in one move. He could handle any of them one on one, but they were too much at once. He pulled one of his four large knives and poised himself for a stab, but it was blocked by Ingenerate. He swiped at the armored hero to see if he could get a different target, but the steel only glanced off the hard plastic armor. He settled for kicking the teen away, and his strike sent the Ingenerate into the wall, knocking his breath away from him. He turned to the green-clad hero, only to find him holding his blade in an iaido stance. The next moment ended the fight.

* * *

' _Swords are not a tool that you use lightly.' Anima said simply. 'They are meant to draw blood, to kill and maim. I don't think you can use them because of that very reason. You care too much to purposefully draw blood.'_

' _But what If I have little choice.' Izuku spoke in a soft voice. 'I want to know how to use a sword in case I need to end a fight faster than what I can do with my fist and feet.' Anima smiled sadly at the twelve-year old's reasoning._

' _Alright, but promise me you won't use it to kill. The blood on your hands can't be washed away easily.' The teacher received a nod._

' _I'm only teaching you one move, so polish it to perfection.'_

* * *

Deku swung the blade at Stain's collarbone with the back of the o katana. When it connected, he felt the bone break under the force of the three-pound steel, and the hero killer fell. Deku tossed the blade aside before going to his knees from the exhaustion and adrenaline crash hitting him hard. He used Chi liberally in that fight, so he wasn't as injured as his classmates, but chi use was tiring to the bone. With the killer unconscious, his quirk deactivated, freeing Shouta and Native. The pro hero ran to Deku's side to check his condition while berating the three students for recklessly putting their lives at risk.

"It wasn't reckless, it was a calculated risk between our injuries and your life based on Midori- I mean, Deku's plan." Shouto corrected himself.

"Deku-san always makes plans based on what resources he has, so although it was on the fly, we obtained our goals." Deku nodded and stood up, now over the adrenaline crash.

"Goal one for heroes: safety of the endangered people and property. Goal two: subjugation of the villain. Goal three: self-safety. I think we nailed number one and two, though we have to work on number three." the hero in green scratched the back of his head while giving a sheepish smile while his classmates shook their heads in exasperation; they were covered in bruises as a result of getting too close to the homicidal maniac with steel-rimmed boots. They tied the hero up with some rope that was by the dumpster for newspapers and such. Stain woke up in a half-lucid state, simply going where they pulled him, which was out into the street where the other heroes were waiting, along with Gran Torino.

"I leave ya alone for twelve minutes and ya already found trouble. I swear, kids these days…" although his tone was admonishing, Deku saw a small smile creep up the old man's face. The other heroes were already calling for ambulances until Gran Torino shouted.

"GIT DOWN!" while everyone heeded his words, a Nomu had come flying in to grab someone while bleeding from it's left eye. The abomination grabbed Deku, who was to exhausted to dodge in time, and started flying off.

* * *

Stain saw the kid get grabbed, and soon found himself angry.

'That's a real goddamn hero! Even with my hands covered in blood, I'm not going to let those bastards kill him!' his mind raced as he made a plan. He saw the creature's blood on the heroine's face and moved. He pulled the knife he hid under his wrist guard and cut his bindings before licking the blood off the woman's cheek. He saw the abomination freeze and ran full sprint despite the immense pain he felt. When it was within range of his jump, he launched himself on the monster before stabbing it in the head and grabbing Deku. The heroes were stupidly talking amongst themselves about his actions until he heard the voice of the #1 faker.

" _Endeavor!_ " his mask fell off, but it was only a side thought as he glared daggers at the "hero".

" _Another phony!_ " his voice was filled with venom as he directed all of the killing intent he had at the flame user.

" _The fakes must be purged. Someone… someone has to_ _ **stain**_ _themselves with the blood of fakes. The meaning of the word_ _ **hero**_ _must be restored to its glory!_ " Stain took a step before putting his entire intent behind his next words.

" _Just try it, you counterfeits! The only one allowed to kill me is_ _ **All Might!**_ " he felt his consciousness slipping as he felt something behind him. He turned to find that Deku was standing eye level with him.

"The original meaning of a hero comes from the Greeks. It simply meant anyone with divine ancestry. When the middle ages turned around, it meant anyone with military merits. During the great depression of 1938 to the start of the quirk hero system in 2135, it meant one who tried to help others any way they could. Now, it's a profession, with rules and guidelines. but the ones who made the laws tried their damnedest to keep the essence of heroes in the profession. Of course, people are going to look at heroing as a way to make money or get famous, but they've been doing it longer than most realize." it was strange for the hero killer. He wanted to refute the words, but the kid's intent was strong, and he felt the protective aura he was emitting engulf the area. He didn't know how, but the kid's naive convictions were strong enough to combat his creed.

"Heroes are humans, and humans are flawed. Even All Might isn't infallible; he's going to screw up, just like anyone else." as Stain's eyes were starting to fall, he had a betraying thought.

'What is a hero?'

* * *

I feel like I could have done better in the last stretch, but alas. I'll iterate once more; it's fun to write combat scenes! The matter of Izuku grabbing the blade is something that can absolutely work (Google half swording if you don't believe me). I was honestly wondering which of the trio would be the one to find Stain, and so I left it up to chance; I literally rolled a four-sided dice to find out. if you have any criticisms or comments, tell me! I love reading every review I get. Until next time!


	17. Outcome

Izuku was miserable in the hospital. Not because of the food, or the constant check-ins with the staff, but because of his worst injury.

 _A broken rib._

He heard that they hurt all the time, but _feeling_ it was different than _hearing_ it. It hurt to breathe, cough, laugh, and god help you if you sneezed. Izuku was pretty sure he wasn't going to be patrolling unless recovery girl was going to pay the miserable teen a visit. He was laying in his reclined bed with tenya on his right and Shouto on the other side of the room.

"How bad are your guys' injuries?" he said. While they told the teen his own, he'd feel bad if his backup had worse ones.

"Some minor injuries from overusing my quirk, some cuts that don't need stitches, and some impressive bruises." the dual-quirk user stated in a mechanical fashion. He was used to injuries, so it wasn't too bad.

"I've only got some minor muscle damage to my calf and a fair number of bruises. What's your list?" Izuku was glad they didn't get too hurt.

"Bruises, minor cuts, and my…" he tried to remember the medical anatomy. "Left third rib, is broken. I hope Recovery Girl can heal this back at school. Not much can be done for the rib here, as it's constantly moving." the other two teens wince.

Soon the room turned into a more positive mood as they started talking about their training. Tenya had decided to use the hero Manual as his role model, as he knew he tended to use the role of a hero as a tool instead of a mantle. Shouto had decided that his father, while a horrid person, was the #2 hero for a reason. Izuku, twisting the truth a little, said he chose Gran Torino for three-dimensional combat experience, something he wanted to incorporate in his style. Then two of the aforementioned heroes came in.

"Good grief. I oughtta smack ya around for being so reckless, but cha got a visitor." Gran Torino and Manual moved aside to let a man with a dog's head walk into the room. With a few bad puns mixed in his speech, he told them of the illegal actions they took, and that they could cover it up because they did the right thing, instead of the lawful thing. When the dog-faced man saw Izuku sit up with a wince, he expected them to ask for it to be covered up. He was wrong.

"Citizen's arrest." everyone turned their heads to the freckled teen. "Section 213 of the Code of Criminal Procedure allows anyone witnessing any crime in progress to make an arrest, barring misdemeanors. Section 214 states that quirk usage is a viable method of restraint if and only if the offender had with reasonable assumption used their quirk." Tenya was wide-eyed as he knew where it was going.

"When I arrived, Native was already immobilized by Stain's quirk when I arrived, as had Todoroki-san when he was cut until Stain was unconscious. We didn't break any laws if you look at us as citizens instead of heroes in training, making this a criminal procedure case instead of a code of heroics case." the room was deathly quiet as Izuku was in pain from spouting the needed information. He _technically_ used his quirk before he knew stain was using his, but the details were blurry for any other parties involved besides him. Anima had drilled the laws into Izuku's head in case he ever had to choose what was legal and what was right and needed to find the loopholes afterward.

"Bhahahaha!" there was a barking laughter from the district Chief of Police. Wiping a couple tears from his eyes, the man gave what could only be a smile.

"To think, a child knows the laws better than I. Truly, this is a humbling experience." the furred man gave a bow.

"Then let me be the first to congratulate you on helping my people in the capture of one who disrupted the peace." It was an odd experience to be praised by one in such a high position, but not unwelcomed. The three, knowing that there was now little chance of being arrested, were smiling like kids.

* * *

Chizome woke up from the anesthesia in his cell, which had a comfortable bed at least. He remembered the needle before lasting another good minute before blacking out, but he didn't care.

"I-I'm gl-gl-glad to see you-you are a-awak-ke." the murderer heard the voice in his head, just as it was described during the contract.

' _How long do I have to wait?_ ' he asked through the link; he didn't care about formalities. He wanted to see the term "hero" be brought to it's former glory.

" _The original term simply meant that you had divine ancestry, then it meant military merits… heroes are humans, and humans are flawed. Even all might isn't infallible..._ " the kid- Deku's- words still found themselves still lingering in the hero killer's head. He admired that conviction, that will to stand with his ideal even when he was faced with such a different one, that Deku had.

"P-p-patience, my d-dear ally. First, did-did you f-find the h-hero I g-g-gave contact to? I-I did give you an-an image." the magus's words brought Chizome out of his thoughts.

' _No, but there was one kid who fit the bill for the one he was teaching. My guess was that he didn't think it was worth it to show, and sent the brat._ ' he spat before he heard a few tsks from the other link.

"As-as much as I-I w-would like t-to agree w-with you, F-F-Fiara is-is what you c-call a t-t-true hero. He was a he-hero aro-around l-l-long bef-before the t-term _quirk_ c-came ab-about. I th-think he-he started in two-two-two thousand fif-fifteen. Th-though he i-is a bl-bl-blood knight, he did k-k-keep your im-image of a h-hero. I-if he didn't sh-show, he had-had other thing-things o-occupy-pying his t-time." Archibald gave the information in a dull tone, not praising or condemning the hero, so Chizome let it go.

' _I delivered on my end, so you keep yours. Now, how long?_ ' he didn't like beating around the bush.

"four mon-months. It sh-should give-give you e-enough time to i-improve." while not the answer he wanted to hear, he was at least promised a breakout after the time was up. While he couldn't learn any of the broken man's spells, he could learn to use the magic tools he had in that time, along with some simple physical enhancement exercises.

' _Four months… yeah, I can wait that long._ '

* * *

When Eijiro was dressing into his workout clothes with his partner, he heard the news.

"Heroes in training Ingenerate, Deku, And Todoroki Shouto had managed to apprehend the villain, known as the hero killer Stain, during the crisis on Hosu while the heroes captured the two nameless villains that are shown on screen." he and Tetsutetsu looked at the screen. The redhead froze when he saw the nomu look-alikes.

"You okay man?" the steel teen asked. Eijiro shook his head.

"During the attack on the USJ, the strongest villain looked like those freaks…" just as he said it, the reporters confirmed there was a connection.

"Shit, and that was in Hosu? I'm glad that no one from my class was involved..." the news changed to the interview of the heroes-in-training that caught the murderer. It didn't even take a moment for the steel-haired teen to notice his friend's classmates in a hospital.

"So, what was it like taking on the hero killer?" the reporter asked in a serious tone. Izuku shuddered before grasping his chest.

"It was quite terrifying, knowing his quirk's ability and his armaments," Tenya answered for the three of them.

"Why did you even think it was a good idea? I don't think many heroes would do what you three did." she tried coaxing more out of them.

"W-when I came across him, he… he had someone at swordpoint. My legs moved on their own, and I charged him. Then I called for my friends." the green-haired teen motioned to his classmates. "I was lucky they made it in time." Eijiro saw his friend smile and knew what it felt like being near that warmth. When he heard his friend's dream to be a hero like All Might months back, he didn't doubt his classmate could.

"Many people are looking at the ideology of Stain, and many think it has some merits; what are your thoughts on the matter?"

"It's flawed." this time, all of them answered. When they looked at each other, tenya motioned towards Izuku, saying he has more knowledge on the subject.

"While his idea of a true hero has some merit, he didn't think that many heroes chose the career for more than one reason. Anyone who took the job does want to help, as they could get money and fame through other means. He also didn't think that the quote-on-quote, "fake heroes", could be redeemed, meaning he had a lack of understanding that heroes are humans; people learn as they progress, so they can turn to and fall away from what he thinks of as true heroism. I understand the idea, but it's too flawed for it to work in the real world. Todoroki-san?" Izuku passed the baton to the dual quirk user as he grabbed an ice pack for his ribs.

"Damn." Tetsutetsu broke the silence it the room. "Your class is nuts." Ejiro smiled.

"Naw, it's just Midoriya; he's been like that since primary school, from what Anima-sensei says. Jump in to help first, figure out a plan second. His plans still work, it's just that he doesn't think of his own safety."

"How does Anima-sensei know Midoriya?"

"Midorya says that they've had a master-disciple relationship since he was six. I'm kinda glad; Anima-sensei joined UA to help Midoriya, and we got a kick-ass teacher because of it. Ready to head to the training room?" Tetsutetsu grinned at his buddy.

"Hell yeah! I almost got that punch just right!"

* * *

Fiara let a whistle out after seeing the interview.

"You know one of the kids?" Ryukyu asked, looking at her partner's phone.

"You see the kid with green hair?" she nodded. "That's my disciple." the dragon hero gave a small nod.

"You must be proud," she stated. The werewolf puffed his chest out in mock pride, only to deflate with a wide grin. A gunshot rang out down the block.

" **Later**." the two chorused. When they got to the scene, it seemed someone had tried to rob a jewelry store. The work of a hero is never complete.

* * *

Sometime after the reporter left, the teens heard a commotion outside. After a few moments, the door burst open with the worst thing Izuku could face.

A crying mother.

"IIIIZZZUUUUKUUUUU!" she grabbed her son and hugged him tightly. His friends winced for him, as her gripping arm was about level with the broken bone.

"momomomomMOM! You're hurting me!" as soon as he said that, Inko sat her boy down and started to look at him in worry.

"Broke a rib…" he wheezed before his mother handed him an ice pack instantly.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't know, and I was worried, and… I'm just glad you're okay!" she went in for another hug, this time wrapping her arms around Izuku's neck. He patted his crying mother's back and looked over to see Jesse in the arch of the doorway.

"When she heard you were in the hospital, she asked me to give her a ride. We took my motorcycle to get here as fast as possible." her words made Izuku widen his eyes in surprise; his mother _hated_ riding the bikes, and avoided doing so since her first ride when he was eight. He held his mother tighter, ignoring the pain.

"I'm sorry for worrying you…" tears were falling from the teen's eyes as well. When they finally let go, the mother and son pair gave each other a warm smile, making the room seem fluffier. Shouto was looking on with mild envy while Tenya was smiling at the loving family. When Izuku remembered them, he called to his mother.

"Oh mom, these are my classmates; Iida-san and Todoroki-san. Guys, this is my mom." his smile returned, though not as bright.

"How do you do, Midoriya-san?"

"Hello, Midoriya-san." though they didn't know what else to say, they didn't need to.

"Thank you for looking out for my son. He probably would have been worse off without either of you helping." she bowed deeply. Izuku was happy that his friends and mother were getting along.

* * *

"Thank you for looking out for me, even if it was only for a small time!" Izuku bowed to Gran Torino at the front of the elderly hero's flat.

"I feel like I didn't look after ya at all; workplace experience ended up being, well you know." the small man pointed towards the teen's chest.

"No, it was thanks to you that I could help save lives that day." Gran Torino smiled as he shook his head.

"Keep going kid, you've got a lot to tackle if ya want to be the strongest hero." as he saw the teen leave, he only had one thought.

'He's so different from you, but he's just like you, Toshi.'

* * *

That's a wrap! The idea of Izuku's rib break was in honor of my dad, who had broken, cracked, and bruised his ribs on fourteen different occasions, the last time being only a couple months back. Inko is a crier, and so is her son, and I find it adorable. If you have any questions or comments, please tell me! I've said this several times, but I love reading how you guys think of my stories. That's all for now. Till next time!


	18. Preparation part 2

I Forgot to mention this last chapter, but I have omakes about this story. Check out the page!

* * *

With everyone in class 1-A back together, many were talking about their field training with their friends. When Izuku, Shouto, and Tenya walked in the door from having their worst wounds healed by the nurse, the room turned silent.

"Yo big shots! Nice work in Hosu!" Denki shouted, causing the class to get wild again.

"Fuck yeah! Kickin' the hero killer's ass is epic!" Hanta congratulated.

"I saw the footage when the heroes were on scene… Midoriya, you have my respect on sheer gall, if not a lack of danger sense." Mezo and Mashirao nodded at Fumikage's words.

"I was worried for you." Momo said softly, which Eijiro agreed with.

"I'm glad you're alive; no joke, that's what matters." while Shouto and Tenya were taking the praise in stride, Izuku wasn't faring nearly as well. The green-haired teen was trying to get to his seat when Katsuki stopped him.

"Don't get too big a head; I'm gonna catch up fast, so you better prep for it." The blond's words were filled with both arrogance and confidence, but his voice was shockingly at indoor volumes. The inheritor of One for All smiled.

"I'll take your words to heart; I heard you went for Crazy Eight instead of Beast Jeanist." the explosive blonde grinned at the question.

"Wolf Grin informed me of him; guy's a pretty good fighting hero." Katsuki remembered the talk Anima had with him.

' _He's not as big, but he's a better match for your method. Jeanist is a perfectionist, but Eight is more of a loose cannon, save some iron-clad rules._ ' And the werewolf was right. The hero let more than most would slide, until a civilian got hurt; Katsuki smiled at the memory of the thug getting his ass handed to him by his nominator. Soon the class quieted down (largely thanks to Tenya) and school began once more.

* * *

"I'm glad that you all seemed to gain some experience from your field training. Especially you, Uraraka-san; your form has improved splendidly!" Anima praised the brunette before attempting to continue.

"Where's All Might-sensei this time?" Tsuyu bluntly asked.

"Due to people associating Stain with the League of villains, he's having to deal with some issues in the background. Just by taking a guess, he's going to have to prioritize this for a few weeks, so he'll be teaching on odd occasions." the teacher answered smoothly. In all honesty, Anima felt that there was going to be some major trouble soon, so he had the haggard hero conserve as much of the remains of One for All. The tall blond trusted his friend's instincts on this, and wasn't using his buff form as much as possible; his resources were telling him the same after all.

"Back to the lesson." Anima told the students. "This is a rescue race. You're competing with four others- meaning four groups of five- to get to me from somewhere in ground gamma(Ɣ), starting from the outside of the mock city. You will mainly be scored on your speed but you can be deducted points for property damage, so mind the destruction. Looking at you Bakugo." the werewolf added.

"Fuck off!" the only thing telling the explosive quirk user his teacher heard the words was a shit-eating grin as Anima looked to the bulk of class 1-A.

"The first group contains Midoriya Izuku, Iida Tenya, Asui Tsuyu, Bakugo Katsuki, and Sero Hanta. You have ten minutes." the five students decided to go from the same spot just for the sake of fairness.

"Leave it to Anima-sensei to have the fastest five at the same time. My money's on Bakugo though. He can almost fly with his quirk." Denki shamelessly admitted.

"Mine's on Sero; he's built for that playing field." Eijiro decided.

"I'm giving mine to Midoriya just on his acrobatics and reflexes." Mina piped up.

"I think Iida-kun will get first." Ochako admitted. The signal blared and everyone started. Tenya was the only one who stuck to the ground, but he was consistently closing in on the signal. Tsuyu and Hanta had decided on staying in the middle of the labyrinth of pipes, making it a race between the two. Both Katsuki and Izuku were flying on top, with sudden bursts of speed coming from the blond's explosion while his rival was jumping on the high, but thin pipes that gave a better view for scouting his freerunning route and making adjustments to it.

Soon enough, mistakes occurred as Hanta's cellophane caught on a loose pipe, making him lose altitude which he had to regain. Tsuyu wasn't using her tongue in fear of tetanus, so she was lagging behind as well. It was looking better for the three that hadn't slowed down. It was a close match, but little mistakes made it harder to not lose time regaining balance. When the three fastest got within sight, it was clear who won.

* * *

"Congratulations for getting the fastest time out of every student, Bakugo." Anima praised. "Now then, if you look at your times, the difference between Bakugo's time of 110.5 seconds and Hagakure's time of 174.3 is only sixty-four seconds. In a rescue operation, that handful of seconds can mean life or death for the victim. Any method you can use to shave those seconds off, use them." the class was used to this by now; Anima never condemned heroes, but he always stressed the value, danger, and emotional weight the career presented. He made the worst mistakes, and he would be _damned_ if he didn't let them learn from his failures; It made the class want to work harder so they weren't repeated. When the teens were out of their hero costumes, Anima walked up to his disciple.

"Go to the teacher's lounge after school; Toshinori wants to talk with you." it was a small message, but Izuku nodded.

* * *

Shouto was nervous. It wasn't because of a villain, or the press, or even a normal crush; he was nervous because he was moving in a single day from the hell he called home to halfway across the city. Everything was planned. He, Anima, and Jesse would gather everything he owned save the bed and throw it in the back of the martial artist's' truck before driving to what would be his new residence without returning for another trip.

The problem was they only had an hour before his old man returned.

Entering his soon-to-be former residence, he called to his sister. Walking from the living room, she saw the cacciatores and gave a hesitant bow.

"Hello. My name' Todoroki Fuyumi. What brings you here?" her voice was unsteady, but the married pair could tell she was going to protect her brother by her body language.

"Hello. I'm Anima Cacciatore, and this is my wife Jesse. I'm a teacher at your brother's school, but that's not why we've come. On his request, he'll be living with me until further notice." the werewolf's words shocked the eldest child, but he continued as Shouto went to his room with Jesse.

"I heard of his… relationship with his father, and offered him my place. We're getting his things before he leaves. We have to do this before Endeavor comes back from work." Anima walked to his student's room to lend a hand, only to find Fuyumi following. Looking over his shoulder, she only gave a single response.

"I want to help my little brother." The martial artist liked her resolve. The four managed to pack everything in just over a half hour. When they were ready to leave, Jesse gave Fuyumi a small piece of paper.

"Visit whenever you want, no matter the time." the she-wolf explained with a warm smile.

"You know, I just might." the eldest Todoroki returned the smile. 'If these are the people looking after shouto-kun, then he'll be fine.'

* * *

Over the next couple months, the class of 1-A was studying as much as they possibly could, mainly thanks to the pressure Momo, Tenya, and Izuku kept so no one would have to miss the lodging trip. While Denki and Mina were having the hardest time, they were maintaining more than they usually did because of the bookworms helping. Soon enough, everyone was up to be at least passing in common school studies.

Physically, the class was doing phenomenally due to the fact almost everyone decided to take Anima's martial arts lessons at least once a week if not more. Toru was learning how to utilize snake style, making her strikes even more of a nightmare to predict. Denki decided to focus on the collapsible baton to channel his electricity through. Both Tetsutetsu and Eijiro were becoming monsters in offense and defense respectively. Due to their differing skeletal structure, Tsuyu and Mezo were working on making their own fighting style just for themselves. Rikido was learning boxing to make the most of his quirk, trying to make every punch muscle memory. Koji was learning tai chi for keeping even his opponents uninjured. Even Fumikage was learning aikido for when Dark Shadow was not reliable.

Soon, the exams were just a week away, but with their training and studies, everyone was fairly confident.

* * *

"Of course you're getting better now; real combat will do that." Anima spoke with surety. Izuku and his mother were having Katsudon and cold soba with the Cacciatores and Shouto before the exams. The green-haired teen looked confused before his mentor explained.

"It has to do with experience. You know _how_ to do many techniques since you started training at a young age, but you didn't know _when_ to use them. With your fights at the USJ and with Stain, you've been learning how to use them, not just how to execute them."

"But, didn't I fight with you often?" Anima shook his head.

"It's a matter of mindset. If you screw up in a spar, I'll stop, and you know it. When your life's _actually_ on the line, you know screwing up will get you killed, so your mind has you act accordingly." the werewolf's words were enough to get his disciple on a mumbling rant. Shouto watched his classmate fall deeper into his thoughts before turning to Inko.

"I'm curious; when did Midoriya-san start doing that?" he asked.

"I think he was seven. The best thing to do is let Izuku finish his tangent." she answered honestly.

"-so it lets all prior training consolidate with the fear of real combat." the youngest teen finished his thoughts, satisfied with the reasoning.

"Now then," Anima held his drink up. "Let's have a toast for our dear students; Good luck on your exams!"

"Cheers!" everyone touched glasses.

"Are you comfortable, moving I mean." Izuku asked softly.

"It's… it's new, but nice. I can't tell you how much it's taken off my shoulders. Thank you, all of you." it was small, but everyone saw the warm smile on the scarred teen's face. Inko quickly went over to hug her son's friend.

"It's no trouble at all. If you ever want, come visit Izuku at our place. We'd love to have you." It was odd for the teen to see so much emotion thrown around, but it was more welcoming than anything at his old house.

'So,' he thought. 'This is what _home_ is supposed to be like.'

* * *

When the day of the finals arrived, everyone in class 1-A gathered outside the mock cities with many teachers and even the principal.

"Right, the physical test will begin shortly." Shouta said emotionlessly. "I'm sure you learned a little about this from other resources." Mina and Denki were ecstatic that they heard it was going to be robots like the entrance exam, but the principal shot their hopes down.

"Due to various reasonings including the USJ incident, we have decided to focus on person-to-person combat instead of the robots this year. You will be paired up and assigned a task against a teacher. These pairings have been decided based on the way you move, your grades, and your degree of familiarity with one another. Now then: Ashido and Kaminari will be going with me, Aoyama and Uraraka will be facing thirteen…" the list went on until there were four left.

"Yaoyorozu and Midoriya are against me." Shouta said with a grin that made the two shudder.

" _ **And I'll be taking on Bakugo and Todoroki.**_ " the strongest teens turned to a low voice and froze. It was Anima.

 _And he was in his werewolf form._

* * *

That was a fun chapter to write. Next chapter will be focusing on the changes 1-A has had due to training, so there will be some major change. Now, Shouto is in a better situation, and the class is more cohesive as a whole. If you think I messed up, Tell me! I read like a broken record sounds, but I love hearing your responses. Till next time!


	19. Different Results

This is a shorter chapter, but I hope you all enjoy it.

Deku and Creati were strategizing before the timer started. The martial artist wanted to run while his companion wanted to capture, so they made a plan somewhere in the middle. When the signal blared, the two ran. While Deku was bathed in the power of One for All, Creati was constantly making one thing; Russian nesting dolls with contents. There were two colors, with the green ones containing Deku's part of the plan and single red one the size of a head containing hers. Soon enough, the lightning that was coming off the green-clad hero was snuffed. Knowing the hero from the limited footage he found, Deku looked up to see Eraserhead on the on the powerlines. The pro hero threw his scarf at the stronger of the two as he was the more dangerous in combat between the two teens.

He forgot that chi wasn't erased by his quirk.

Anchoring himself and pulling, Deku defied physics as the erasing hero was launched off the high ground. The raven-haired hero righted himself before aiming a kick at his student. Deku sidestepped as his partner opened the green dolls, revealing smoke grenades that filled the area. Creati then pulled out the content of the red doll; a net made from capture tape. With the use of chi, Deku could sense where the other two were and pulled Eraserhead towards Creati with his now accessible quirk. Before the smoke cleared, the two cuffed the pro, winning the exam.

"I forgot that part of your quirk can't be erased… such a blunder."

"I'm still glad that it worked. Creati, you were right and I owe you one." Deku said with sincerity.

"I-it was nothing. I know I'm not as strong as you, so I'm glad I could help." her blush was minor, but the teacher saw it.

"I may be physically stronger, but I'm nowhere near as versatile as you are; this could have been bad if I was teamed with anyone else." he comforted his partner with a million watt smile and chi projection, making her blush even more prominent but calming her down from her nervous state.

"Thank you." the three went to Recovery Girl to see if there were any unknown injuries they sustained. Other than Eraserhead's eyes being irritated by the smoke bombs, everyone checked out. They then went to the observation room to see the other matches and finding they were the first to finish as no one else was present. Deku grabbed his newest hero journal and started taking notes on the other fights. Creati was paying attention as well, but was still feeling the afterglow of victory after so many losses.

* * *

Red Riot and Sugarman were in the center of the mock city waiting for the signal. No matter how the muscled teens looked at it, the odds were not in their favor; Cementoss had a large amount of material to work with, and if the pro played his cards right, he could outlast them.

"Yo Sato," the redhead turned to his partner. "We can't fight Cementoss-sensei head on, so let's make a plan." Most wouldn't think Red Riot would suggest something like he did as it would be "unmanly" to do otherwise. If you told him it was manly to charge head first before he attended UA, he would have agreed with you.

Now he knew better.

Anima, who in the teen's eyes was the epitome of all that was macho currently alive, had shamelessly admitted that he thought ahead on multiple occasions. He explained it for the redhead in the best way he could. ' _I don't think about what's "manly" mainly because it's pointless. If being a coward is unmanly, then letting someone get hurt or killed because of a stupid ego is worse in my mind. I'm a hero before I'm a man._ ' The words struck a chord with the hardening quirk user.

"Okay, how d'you want to go about this?" Sugarman asked, making his companion smirk. When the signal blared they started down the direct route to the exit to find Cementoss in the middle of the road between them and the exit. The teacher put his blocky hands to the ground and started making walls of stone one after another to block them, making them stop. Waiting for any signs of the walls dropping, Sugarman prepped a sugar pack with his partner close by, ready to harden at the drop of a hat as well. After a few minutes, their patience paid off as a straight path to the pro hero was opened by the curious teacher. The sweet-tooth hero downed the capsule's contents before Red riot jumped on his strong arm. With his quirk granting him a stupid amount of strength, the muscled duo pulled one of the oldest combos in hero history.

A Fastball Special.

The hardening hero was thrown at near-cannonball speeds as his skin took on the appearance of stone. Cementoss tried to erect a wall between himself and his student but wasn't fast enough. Red Riot hit the ground running as he charged the blocky hero with cuffs in hand, tackling the pro to the ground. When the cuffs were slapped on, the horn blared, signaling the students winning.

" **Hell yeah!** " the muscled teens shouted at the top of their lungs.

"Didn't think it'd go so well," Kirishima admitted. "I was expecting to just get close enough to get to Cementoss-sensei for a fighting chance, not get past his entire defense."

"It was a good strategy. I was hoping to make this a battle of attrition, but you managed to make it a blitz." the literature teacher praised. When they went to the area where Recovery Girl was, the teens met up with the class members that finished before them.

* * *

Pinky and Chargezuma were trying to find the exit while avoiding the wreckage the principal was dropping on them when they saw the rubble blocking the way, they knew he was trying to steer them in a specific way.

"Hey Mina, could you find where the furball is?" Chargezuma asked. Pinky nodded before scaling the tallest building in the area. Taking a look around while ignoring the massive amounts of damage, the acid hero saw a spot of white in the seat of a crane with a wrecking ball attachment. She called over the borrowed earpiece that connected to the stun gun hero's headset.

"He's north. Five or six blocks on a crane. There's a straight path if we turn left. Wanna catch him?" she asked, almost hearing the grin on the other side, the blonde agreed. They managed to get about a block away from the animal before he caused the path to be filled with rubble.

"Fuck!" the electric hero cursed before looking at the damage. With an uncharacteristic moment of genius, he made a plan.

"Hey, melt those, those, and those together." he pointed to some metal pipes and beams that were close to one another. Pinky took aim and launched globs of acid at the locations needed with accuracy. When the acid wore off, there was a metal line connecting from an area close by to a massive water leak under the crane. Chargezuma threw his lightning pointer to the edge of the beam and discharged a massive amount of electricity into it. The current raced through the path of least resistance before frying the principal's toy and the electric teen's head. Pinky ran up the rubble and towards the smartest creature in the area. She opened the door to the crane's interior before cuffing the mastermind.

"That was fun! I give you this victory!" Nedzu admitted. Slightly disturbed by the animal's cheer for destruction, the trio went to meet up with the school nurse. Hopefully, they passed the practical well enough to make up for their written exam.

* * *

Yeah, this was a shorter chapter, but I wanted to show how everyone was growing differently in their exams. I can't tell you guys how much being able to write in a Fastball Special for a legitimate reason (as writing it in without one would leave a bad taste in my mouth) made me happy. As for Izuku and Yaoyorozu's part, two scary smart strategists scheming can secure scuffles swiftly… I have no idea where that alliteration came from. Anyway, if you have questions, comments, or concerns, leave a review. Up next is Katsuki and shouto vs Anima! Till next time!


	20. Battle Wolf

Fiara was watching his students from the tallest building in the area. He saw them start looking around but knew they couldn't find him as human eyes didn't have the ability to see details at his current distance. When he was sure the destructive duo were actually looking for him instead of the exit, he jumped off the nineteen-story building while letting the twenty-five pounds on each of his wrists give him more inertia. When he was halfway down, he heard the end of the conversation the two were having.

"-head-on, we just gotta wait," Nitro stated. The werewolf grinned.

'People seldom look up' he thought as the martial artist saw that he was going to land in between the heroes-in-training.

 **KABOOM!**

The sheer kinetic force caused a cloud of cement dust to envelop the trio. Shouto, who finally decided on the hero name Thermal Shock, created an ice barrier to guard against more dust and the furred monster he was fighting. Nitro knew the advantage Fiara had in low-visibility situations, so he set about causing explosions to clear the air. The eldest felt the blonde's hand in his area, so he grabbed the teen's wrist and threw him through the wall of ice. Both teens regained their footing before launching an assault.

"DIE!" with the unheroic warcry, Nitro used the shockwave of his blasts to try and disorient his opponent while Thermal Shock torched the area. Fiara dodged to the side in an instant before sending a leg-sweep to the dual quirk user before following up with a palm strike at the explosive teen's shoulder, feeling the socket pop. Ice enveloped the area with the hope of catching the multi-century old monster, but he was already gone.

The entire exchange took less than five seconds.

" **Come, young heroes; let me show you why my title is Battle Wolf!** " the werewolf's voice was guttural, almost like a growl, but it still had the aged power his human voice had. When the teens looked at his lupine face, his eyes seemed to glare at them like mere prey, making them reevaluate their plan. Thermal made the present ice grow around him and his partner to ensure an escape route. That look reminded him of the hero killer and his words brought back the memories of his power at the USJ, making him panic. When he and Nitro felt they were far enough, they sat down in the alley while remaining cautious.

"Fuck," Nitro started cursing. "Fucking, fucker, fucking, FUCK! Can't think with the goddamn pain. Half'n'half, pop my fucking shoulder in the motherfucking socket!" deciding it was the best course of action at the moment, the other teen obliged.

"You may want to bite on something soft; it's gonna hurt a lot." the scarred hero said. "One, two, three!" in a fluent motion that showed familiarity, Thermal pulled Nitro's arm, recentered it, and slammed it where it was supposed to be.

Pop.

"Sonovabitch!" the blond shouted. "I'm going to fucking end that asshole!"

"We'll need a plan, but I don't think it's going to be feasible to catch him in the time frame we have." the dual quirk user stated with another string of curses coming from his partner.

* * *

'They still don't get it…' Fiara sighed as they were again searching for him after the fourth encounter. At least they were making their way to the exit this time. He saw Thermal wearing the grenade gauntlets that collected Nitro's explosive sweat, but again, they didn't have the idea he was trying to invoke. The two students flinched while the werewolf charged from the front entice an attack. Thermal Shock used his flames to heat the area around him and his partner to create a shield from his next move.

Freezing the entire street Fiara was on.

"Hopefully that'll hold him while we get to the exit…" the dual quirk user's voiced trailed as the street was shaking from impacts inside the glacier.

"Let's go, dammit!" Nitro called as he started running to the finish line with his partner close behind. They soon found the exit in sight, only a couple hundred meters away. There was a loud crash from behind that told them the last stretch would be the hardest.

"▁▂▃▄▅▆▇▉█ **!** " Fiara's voice strained as he laced chi into his inhuman roar, freezing the teens on the spot; nothing natural should be able to even make a sound like that. Thermal shock created a barrier between him and the monster while raising the temperature for Nitro. The werewolf broke through the ice wall and came after the students. The explosive teen launched blast after blast at their opponent, but they did little. Fiara pinned Nitro by his bicep in under a second.

" **You are not understanding the situation.** " he stated simply. " **The two of you are strong, but there are times you can't take on the opponent head-on.** " his monologue was cut short by Thermal shock pointing a Grenadier Bracer at the werewolf's head.

"Watch us." the scarred teen declared before pulling the pin.

 _ **KABOOOOOM!**_

The martial artist was sent flying with second-degree burns and heavy concussive damage, but the most prominent injury was the portion of flesh that was blown off his face. Coughing up blood, Fiara stood back up before seeing that the kickback from the explosion had launched Thermal Shock through the exit just before the time was up, signaling the teen's win. The monster looked at the camera that had caught footage of his injury.

* * *

Izuku saw the explosion from the viewing room and was understandably worried.

"Holy shit that was awesome!" Eijiro shouted. When the smoke cleared, however, the room's mood shifted. Fiara was covered in burnt fur, but the sight of his face made them pale; Toru had even puked in a bin.

"How can he remain composed like that? Unless he can't feel it, I don't think anyone could stay collected with those injuries." Momo asked.

"He can feel it," Izuku clarified. "He just doesn't care."

"You mean he just ignores it? That's pretty manly." Eijiro praised.

"I think it's scary." Tsuyu added. "Ignoring that kind of pain means he's practiced or he's had worse injuries before." The image of worse injuries made the class shudder. When the two teens came into the tent to see the nurse, they acted like nothing was wrong. Soon enough, even Anima walked in like nothing happened. His wounds had completed healing under a minute after he got them, but Recovery Girl didn't let him argue. When Katsuki's arm was in a sling and all other minor injuries were taken care of, Anima, now in human form, spoke up.

"Don't pull that stunt again." although he didn't say which stunt, everyone knew.

"We won, didn't we? Half'n'half knocked you away and got to the goal. I don't see what the problem is?" Katsuki was calmer, whether due to the adrenaline crash or painkillers for his shoulder he didn't know.

"May I?" he pointed to a tablet before going through the video and showing the destructive duo the injuries he sustained. They paled.

"Heavy burns, broken bones, ruptured organs, and facial avulsion. If anyone else other than myself, or maybe All Might, was hit with that, they would have died. I'm not deducting points because it was me you blew up, but take heed; you two currently have the most destructive capability. Don't forget that." from the expressions of the two teens, nothing more needed to be said.

The next day, everyone was excited about the summer camp. With everyone passing through the gate or capturing the "villain", the only thing they had to worry about was the written exam. When Shouta walked in the room, everyone went to their seats quietly.

"Alright, for your exam results; everyone passed." his dead words made the class roar in joy.

"I'm not done." the teacher stated, making the class go silent. He passed a list of papers to Tenya to pass out. The papers were how well the students did and what they could do to improve.

"Now then, the camping trip is actually a boot camp to help you get better with your quirks. I'll be passing the guides for your guardians to sign to the front row, so pass them back." The class continued until the bell rang. When everyone thought of what they needed to but, Toru gave the idea of a class shopping trip. Everyone thought it'd be fun, so they all planned when and where they'd meet up.

Fiara was going on patrol once again. It was nice, being able to be a hero without repercussions from the government. Even before quirk laws, he had to be careful not to go too far out of the legal grey area; now, it was his job. The werewolf's musings were cut short as he heard a scream a block away. He dashed to the source to help, and there _it_ was.

Wearing a bone or keratin mockery of plate armor that clacked against itself, the being had clawed hands and was standing 6' 7", only a few inches taller than Fiara. What worried him though, was that it had no scent. If it had no natural scent like some quirks that would have been reasonable, but it didn't even smell like the area it was in; it was just a void. He could only think of one thing that could break natural laws that thoroughly.

 _Magic_

Fiara closed in and pinned the monster by its shoulders to protect the teen it was attacking. The abomination reacted by bending the natural plates it wore and bending its boy at an angle that no human would be capable of without a quirk, and throwing the werewolf across the alley. Getting up instantly, Fiara saw it trying to run out to the streets. The martial artist tackled it to the ground again and held it in a bear hug that would have broken most people's bones. Knowing it was caught, Fiara called the authorities to ask for a capture. He wondered why the creature was cold to the touch.

It took less than two minutes before the police arrived with restraints. The creature was bound tightly in quirk-suppressing equipment. Not a second after the equipment was turned on, the abomination went limp like a puppet with its strings cut. The police officers panicked and turned the machine off, but nothing changed. Soon, the magic dissipated and revealed what its scent was.

 _Rotting Flesh_

Some officers went green and a couple vomited, but Fiara was familiar with the stench enough that he was in control. The hero walked over and detached the capture equipment before laying the body down and walking to the officer in charge.

"The suspect seems to have been dead for a long while, but something was keeping it moving. Call the Forensics team; this turned into a murder." the chief officer nodded before grabbing his radio and calling the necessary procedures.

"No offense Fiara, but with you touching a rotted body, let my men take you to the station for a shower." he said politely. The hero in question looked grateful.

"Thank you…"

"Setsuzoku, Setsuzoku Ichigo." the officer gave.

"Thank you, Setsuzoku-san." as Fiara was put in a car with a trash bag lining, he added a small line after seeing the head officer calming the crowd.

"You live up to your namesake. 'He who protects', I mean." the martial artist didn't see the smile on the policeman's face, but he did hear him mumble something about "finally not strawberry". On the way to the station, Fiara was lost in thought.

'Didn't you die decades ago, Archibald?'

"That was cool~!" Himiko sing-songed after the flesh golem's connection cut off. The mage smirked at her praise.

"O-o-of course. With-with the-the-the pro-proper t-tools, ma-magic can d-do any-anything."

"And how many can you make 'till the deadline?" Dabi asked bluntly.

"It-it's eas-easier t-to m-m-make them with-with human pa-parts than-than ani-animal l-like the t-test we lost. Fif-fifteen t-to twenty with-with g-g-good mat-materials." the mage took silent pride in the surprise the teenagers gave. Kurogiri came in the door to the study.

"Good news; we have the corpses you need. Their quirks have been removed, if that won't hinder you." the mist-covered man received a nod of confirmation. "If you need any more things or some workforce, then ask. Shigaraki wants enough to, and I quote, Zerg rush the heroes to hell and back."

"Z-z-zerg r-rush?" the mage asked, unfamiliar with the term.

"Have you heard of Starcraft?" Dabi asked. Seeing Archibald shake his head, the teen gave a small grin.

"It means attacking with large numbers rather than quality troops. Your golems would be the quantity while the vanguard is the quality." Kurogiri stated. "Speaking of, Mr. Compress wanted to talk about learning real magic after the assault. He's in the bar." Archibald nodded before walking to the stage magician.

'It looks like you have your work cut out for you, Battle wolf.'

This chapter took longer than it should have. Yeah, everyone working together sooner made them all succeed in no one getting remedial lessons. I find it hard to balance Anima's scary abilities with the world he's in. He's not invincible, just really, really hard to take down. Looking at Katsuki's gauntlets again gave me the idea of how he and Shouto would win. If you're curious about what Anima looks like in werewolf form, google "crinos" and think of it as a dark grey. Other than that, the villains are preparing for the invasion at camp. With more threats, how will our heroes fare? side note; Setsuzoku means 'connections'. If you have something you want to say, leave a review; I have still read every one of your comments. Till next time!


	21. Travel

" _A call… is here! A call… is here! A c-_ " Toshinori picked up his phone as soon as he saw the caller.

"Moshi Moshi."

"Izuku ran into the league's leader." Naomasa's words made the haggard man freeze. A memory flashed before him; when his successor's hands were disintegrated layer by layer. Barely restraining his wrath, the blonde asked the most important question.

"Is he okay?" Toshinori didn't know his voice could be that _cold_. It was understandable that he was worried, but this wasn't just a "worried" hero. It was a cold fury that he was feeling.

"Physically, yes, however when he tried to subdue Shigaraki, the villain… he disintegrated his own arm to get away." the detective had seemed to drop even more weight onto the symbol of peace.

"Can you tell me where he is? He needs some assurance, and I want to give it." Toshinori got the address instantly before forwarding it to his fellow mentor.

* * *

Izuku was in the police station closest to the mall. His mind replayed the scene in for the umpeenth time.

 _Shigaraki had pulled him to a spot with fewer people before interrogating him about why stain had gained more popularity than his group. Izuku had tried to keep calm while answering to prevent the ashen-haired teen from going off and hurting anyone like he said he could. When Ochaco came to check on him, his heart sank. When Shiragaki reached for her slightly, the 'hostage' had let his training take over and pinned him by his wrist to prevent him from disintegrating anything nearby._

 _Shigaraki decided that it was a bad enough situation, and put five fingers on his left forearm. The blood made the appendage slick, and when it detached from his bicep, the villain had rushed forward a few feet before disappearing into a black mist that appeared from nowhere with a hoarse laughter. Still in the hero-in-training's hand was the bloody-_

His thoughts were thankfully cut off by the door to the waiting room slamming open to reveal his mentors both wearing different expressions of worry. Toshinori had little but the raw emotion plastered on his gaunt face while Anima showed a rage born of worry; a look that dared anything else to hurt his dear disciple.

"Young Midoriya, we came as soon as we heard what happened. How are you holding up?" his normally booming voice was soft, as if not to scare his dear student. It was a nice gesture, but an unnecessary one; nothing could scare him right now, as everything seemed to be filtered through a sheet before reaching the teen's head. Not trusting himself to openly speak, Izuku shook his head.

"It must have been jarring." Anima's voice didn't have its usual edge, but the werewolf was as straightforward as ever. "Would you… would you like to tell us what's on your mind?" For as long as he was around people, Anima still didn't fully understand how to approach such a sensitive topic. As a result, his words were unintentionally callous. It seemed to work well enough though, as Izuku opened his mouth.

"His quirk, it activates when… when all five fingers touch something." The teen's voice was cracking every other word. "When he had four around my neck, I… I was scared."

"Of course you were. Young Midoriya, even pro heroes would be scared if their life was at risk. Don't-" the haggard hero's words were cut off by Izuku shaking his head swiftly.

"I wasn't scared because of that. I-I mean I was, but that wasn't the scariest part. He used every bystander as a hostage… he could have gone and killed _anyone_ , and… and he used that against me. When he destroyed his arm to run, I was terrified that he'd make true on that. If he went for anyone else, my… stupid idea would have gotten someone innocent _killed…_ " the tears fell from his face. Toshinori didn't know what to say; his inheritor was almost at literal gunpoint, and he was worried that someone else was in danger instead of himself.

"But no one was." Anima spoke with a voice filled with confidence. "If someone did die, then it would be stupid, but in this case, it was just reckless." Toshinori was shocked at the martial artist's words.

"How can you be so confident in those words while Midoriya is distressed like this!?" the haggard hero snapped at Anima, making Izuku start.

"Why can't you?" it wasn't a rhetorical question, as the werewolf's face revealed actual curiosity. Izuku gave a small smile as he knew his first mentor's thoughts; take any trial and grow stronger from it. It sometimes escaped him that Anima _wasn't human_ , and thus didn't fully understand the source of the problem.

"If he actually did go after someone, I wouldn't be able to save everyone in time." the green-haired teen answered, making the focus revert back to him. He was expecting some sort of reprimand, or even a pep-talk about getting powerful enough to never let it happen.

He got neither of those.

" **Of course you can't, that's impossible.** " the two adults spoke in unison. When they looked at each other, Anima nodded for the other to start.

"Out there right now, there's someone who's injured, broken, and in dire need of help. It sucks, but we're only human; we can only do so much, even in this age of quirks." the haggard hero's voice was laced with regret, but it somehow helped Izuku to calm down. When Naomasa had knocked to tell them Inko had come for her son, they decided to leave the talk for another day. Now they had to face the hardest challenge of all; _a worried mother_.

* * *

Days had passed, and summer break had finally arrived. The entirety of the heroics freshmen had gathered around the buses to depart on the field trip at around seven in the morning. when they all scooted on the bus, Shouta and Jesse were there on the bus for 1-A. Soon, The students Departed. There was suppose to be a stop a half hour in, but many didn't even catch that. When the first stop came, everyone got out to find a small hero museum.

"What're we doing here?" Denki asked.

"This is our rest stop. You have thirty minutes to stretch your legs and explore before the buses leave. Use the time how you feel." Shouta said dryly.

"The museum is free for students, so you can go inside to see the heroes that were around before the career." Jesse added. The entire freshman course decided that it wouldn't hurt, and went to take a look.

"I'm surprised that you convinced Nedzu to map this route just for this; it'll take a half hour longer just to get there even if we didn't stop." Sekijiro spoke to the she-wolf.

"They need to learn their roots. It's one thing to know that heroes existed before the job, but it's another to see the faces of the heroes that came before you." she said simply. She wanted to go in, but seeing so many familiar faces in the equivalent of a memorial, she didn't think she could stop the tears.

* * *

"The dude was blind!?" Eijiro exclaimed before looking up at the hero in red. "Holy hell that's awesome!"

"He didn't have a quirk? Truly, his skills must have been remarkable to stand against villains with just a belt of tools." Tenya stared in awe in front of the man in black and grey. More and more students were becoming entranced by the sheer number of heroes that did their best while skirting the law. When Izuku came across one hall, he called for his friends.

"The symbols of peace? Like All Might?" Momo's curiosity was peaked. When more students gathered around they went in. there were sections for heroes from the original Golden Age all the way to the current era. There was the man of steel, closely followed by the super soldier with his shield in hand. The next was the pacifist hero who later became the Christian saint _of_ heroes and so on. They were as diverse in powers as well as skill, but they all had two things in common; they never hesitated to help even when risking themselves, and their will was unbreakable.

"The will of heroes." Izuku whispered under his breath.

"What was that, Midoriya-san?" Kyoka asked. Blushing in embarrassment, Izuku spoke again.

"The will of heroes. It's something that Anima-sensei said made symbols of peace."

"I heard him say that before." Shouto piped in. "he said it was the will to help, even at one's own detriment, just for the sole reason to help. He wasn't lying when he said it was what Symbols of peace were made from." there was a small smile coming from the scarred teen as he glanced at Izuku. Soon, though, there was the call over the intercoms that told the students they needed to depart for the busses. While it was only a half-hour, they all thought the side trip was more than worth it. The teachers saw the change in their eyes as they had the same sentiments. They'd need that fire for what came next.

* * *

"Well… at least we can work together on this." Ochako tried to sound upbeat, but when the class was just flung off a cliff to trek a "forest of magical beasts", the worry was evident. A rumble told them that something big was coming, and everyone tensed. The earthen creature came forward, but Izuku didn't feel any chi from it.

"There there, just calm down and fall back please…" Koji's words did nothing to appease it, and Izuku found why; it was made of earth. He activated One for All and charged in for a kick, just as every other major combatant. With nine students attacking, the earthen puppet fell apart.

"It's Pixie-Bob's quirk! She can manipulate soil and rocks. It makes her useful in natural environments, but that's a disadvantage for us right now." Izuku called out.

"Let's come up with a course of action to make it to the lodge in time. I don't want to skip lunch." Shouto said, gathering the smartest of the group together. With some help from everyone, the plan was set and they started moving. With some of Hanta's tape and wood, the bed of a cart was made. Momo made the chassis and wheels before Mina fixed them on. Tenya, Izuku, Mashirao, Eijiro, and Rikido pulled the cart while Koji, Kyoka, and Mezo directed them down the safest path. Yuga, Katsuki, Denki Fumikage, and Mina were the offensive sentries while Momo, Shouto, Mineta, and Toru were on defense. Ochaco, Tsuyu, and Hanta were in charge of keeping the cart together long enough to get to the base. It used everyone's quirks and skills to pull off, but the plan was solid. When everyone was set, the strongest five pulled the cart across the forest floor.

* * *

"Aren't you giving them the wrong idea, Mandalay? It'd take your team three hours, not a group of kids. I'd be surprised if they got here at 6:30." Sekijiro stated as the buses arrived at the lodge. He was all for competition, but this was still a second-year's training.

"They'll make it. Though I do agree it'll take them the better part of the day to get here." Shouta had said calmly before getting his sleeping bag.

"I don't." the heroes turned their heads to Jesse. "At the most, I think they'll get here at two."

"That's a high order you're giving them." Tiger warned. "What's the reason?"

"My husband taught them." her words held no doubt, in either the kids or her beloved, and it made the heroes pause.

"YOU'RE ALREADY MARRIED!?" Pixie-Bob screamed. The she-wolf gave a blissful smile before showing the blonde heroine her man. It was the day of their wedding, and he wore a black suit with a violet tie that pleasantly clashed with his yellow eyes. At his sides were other men from the groom's party, but Pixie-Bob didn't focus on them. His smile was natural, revealing a gentlemanly look.

"Lucky you…" the blonde admitted. Jesse patted her shoulder.

"You'll find someone, don't worry. With your charm, men will flock to you. Just be sure he's patient; hero work will make you notoriously late for a lot." there was a wry smile at her own words.

"You seem to be experienced in that; how many times has he done it?" Mandalay joked.

"I lost count before we married." she admitted. Sekijiro brought the conversation back on track.

"You say 1-A will arrive by two, so why not make a small bet? I think they'll get here by seven." it was meant to lighten the mood, but soon Shouta put his two cents in.

"Six, and what will we bet with?"

"How about 2,000 yen? It's small enough for anyone to put in, but the winner won't feel cheated." Ragdoll suggested, to which they agreed. "I say by six-thirty."

"Five-twenty." Tiger put his bill in the middle with everyone else's.

"Two o'clock is still my estimate." Soon, everyone (minus pixie-bob to keep things fair; she was controlling the earth beasts after all) had put their bets in before they waited to see who won.

* * *

After a grueling gauntlet of fighting, running, and traveling, class 1-A managed to see the lodge they were staying at. With the building in sight, everyone abandoned the falling-apart carriage and ran to try and make it in time; no one knew the time at the moment.

"Welp, I lost that pretty badly. Who knew they'd make such a plan?" Sekijiro laughed.

"Well, You didn't make it here by twelve-thirty, but you were faster than what we thought." Pixie-bob congratulated them.

"What time is it?" Tsuyu asked. Jesse pulled out her phone to show them.

 _1:48_

"I recommend resting up until dinner, which is going to be around five-thirty." the class decided that rest sounded nice.

"By the way," Izuku spoke up. "Are one of you that child's parent?" he pointed at the kid he saw back at the cliff with the horned hat.

"Hm? Oh, that kid's my nephew." Mandalay corrected. "Hey Kouta, come say hi; you'll be living with them for the next week." reluctantly, the kid had walked forward. Izuku held his hand out.

"Hey, I'm Midoriya Izuku. I'm in the hero course at UA. nice to meet you."

WHAM!

With no warning whatsoever, the child had thrown a punch straight into Izuku's groin, making every guy wince. The teen took a step back to regain his footing while Kouta spoke.

"I'm not going to fuck around with a bunch of losers that want to be corny-ass heroes." it shocked them, that the kid's words had that much _ice_ in them. The cold was overwhelmed as Izuku flooded the area with chi.

"Yeah, it's dumb, but I want to help people. If that makes me a loser, then I don't mind." Kouta didn't know what else to say at the green-haired teen's conviction, and just ran off.

"Midoriya! Are you okay?" Tenya asked.

"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine."

"How!? That kid just punched you in the nuts!" Mineta exclaimed.

"Iron egg." was the short answer. Mashirao knew of the technique, and Eijiro was practicing it, so they gave props to their classmate. When the excitement of the class came back, Izuku only had one question on his mind.

'What made him so bitter about heroes?'

* * *

This came out faster than usual because it's been stewing in my mind since chapter fifteen. Everyone has been practicing together longer than canon because Anima focused on making them work with each other, and with a solid plan challenges become easier. My friend came up with the idea of the hero museum, and I liked it well enough to put it in. as for the scene with Izuku and his mentors, yeah. As stated, Anima technically isn't human, and as a result lack a couple of key things. If you have anything you want me to consider, do let me know! Till next time!


	22. Training Quirks

After everyone had rested and gotten food in themselves, they went to the hot springs. Kyoka had convinced Jesse to attend with the other girls by mentioning Mineta and what he'd be planning. Being his therapist, she knew the likelihood was high, and with the go-ahead from the other staff, she relented. They undressed and entered the blissfully hot water.

"Woah," Mina exclaimed softly at the adult's scars. They were faded, but the claw marks started from her lower left rib down to her pelvis while missing the navel. When the she-wolf tilted her head at the pink skinned girl, the teen turned her head in embarrassment.

"S-sorry, I didn't mean to stare." she apologized.

"It's fine, they're old anyway, so they don't bother me anymore." her voice was indifferent. There was a small silence before Tsuyu spoke up.

"It looks like you were attacked by a monster." she didn't know how accurate she was; the difference was that "monster" was her ancestor.

"Tsuyu-chan~ that's insensitive!" Toru whined at her friend, but Jesse just waived the concern off.

"You'll get your own scars, as all heroes will."

"What do you mean?" Ochaco asked.

"Anima, who's been a hero longer than we've been married, has a host of injuries that even his regeneration couldn't heal fully. It's a dangerous life choice, being a hero. You run into the most dangerous situations and protect others from the worse injuries, even at your own cost." she didn't have to say what that cost could be.

"This is too serious of a talk!" Toru decided before forcefully pushing the topic elsewhere. "Did you see the latest episode of 'Edge of Passion'?"

"Yes I have, and it was amazing!" Momo gushed.

"You two watch that?" Kyoka asked with bewilderment. The girls talked about other inane topics while Jesse just smiled at them.

* * *

"This is awesome…" Eijiro murmured as the hot water eased his muscles into relaxation after the marathon he and the others ran. No one was disagreeing with the redhead. Mashirao and Izuku were soaking as well; only Tenya with his quirk wasn't ridiculously sore.

"What we seek is beyond this wall." Mineta said with almost reverence. When he started explaining his idea, Denki told him that it wasn't just the girls in there.

"Jesse-san is in there too," the fantasy in Mineta's head shattered almost audibly. He dragged his feet to the water before setting himself calf-deep in the water.

"What, you've never been deterred before, why just now? Are you actually frightened of Cacciatore-san?" Fumikage asked out of morbid curiosity.

"She's taken. I'd feel wrong peeking at someone who's already in a relationship." the shortest teen admitted.

"I'm glad you can show restraint in this instance." Tenya congratulated. After everyone had their fill of warmth, they all went to their room to sleep; all except for Izuku. The green-haired teen decided to ask Mandalay about Kouta. When he managed to find her, she told him; the child's parents were heroes who died on the job. His views on heroes were jaded because heroism had taken his parents away from him, and everyone praised their deaths. To a kid, the pain of loss was the worse kind.

* * *

Next morning at the break of dawn, everyone in both class 1-A and 1-B was up and ready to train their quirks. Each of the student's training was based on their quirks, from Eijiro taking repeated blows to Mina making large and potent amounts of acid. Every one of the Pussycats was contributing in their own way from giving advice to making the field that'd help them train the most to actually sparring with them. When Tiger started against Izuku, the teen threw the first punch before instantly recognizing the base fighting style from Tiger's counter.

"Boxing. The modern form started in 1904, but didn't gain legitimacy until the early twentieth century. Looks like a mix of out-fighting and counter punching…" his thoughts leaked out as he tried to analyze the changes in the style that the large man made for his body.

"Good eye, but less talking, more tearing!" The Pussycat member roared before throwing a punch himself. Izuku let the appendage rocket past before attempting a throw. Tiger went the other way the teen was pulling before anchoring and aiming another blow at the teen. The hero-in-training disengaged before putting together the hero's quirk. His limb bent at odd angles, so it had to revolve around flexibility. That limited him to strikes and a choice few throws. He knew that he could produce a lot of force in his body, about 14% of One for All's power could course through him without bracing with chi, double than what he started with at the entrance exam. He started the next contact with a way to open his opponent's guard. Tiger's arms were mostly redirected with a little force, which allowed Izuku to step on the hero's thigh, then abdomen, and finishing with a kick down at his shoulder.

Tiger reacted like he was in a real fight in the next moment, and threw an elbow at the teen. Izuku felt the force connect with his forearm, leaving him little to do but rotating with the force to mitigate damage while reinforcing himself with chi. The green-haired martial artist rolled across the dirt that Pixie-bob softened when she saw what happened. When he finally stopped, Izuku checked himself for damage by reinforcing his sense of touch; a crude way of checking, but for the purposes he needed, it'd work. Realizing the worst injuries were scrapes and a small cut, he stopped reinforcing and turned to face the arena.

"Tiger!" Mandalay exclaimed. "What the hell happened?" it wasn't like the large man to go all out in a spar, as the other Pussycats could attest to, so she was worried. Tiger himself looked shocked, and quickly bowed to the student.

"My apologies, I wasn't expecting your skill, and reacted on instinct!" the large hero hated when he lost control, and here he did just that against _a kid_.

"It's fine." Izuku said calmly. "It's difficult to hold back, especially when you don't know the opposition's skill. I'm just glad it happened against someone who knew how to react." his smile calmed everyone down as Tiger walked up. Holding out his hand, the hero congratulated the teen.

"Your skills are impressive. It must have been hell to get where you are." Izuku's smile widened at the praise and took the man's hand in a firm grip before walking back to the sparing ground.

"It was, but to be a hero, I can take hell and more." he didn't know, but the adults found his declaration admirable. Kouta, hiding in the treeline, found it detestable.

* * *

At four in the afternoon, the brutal training eventually ended for dinner. Izuku saw the raw ingredients and connected the dots before Pixie-bob and Ragdoll said it.

"Now, I told you yesterday 'today's the last day we help you out'. If you want to eat, get up and make yourselves some curry!" while the other students were dragging their feet, Izuku seemed to happily relax as he walked to the pile of ingredients.

"These will do nicely. If it's curry, then we'll need to soak the Potatoes in water before adding it to the pot, unless there's not enough starch in the roux…"

"You seem to have prior experience. Where'd you learn culinary skills?" Fumikage asked, breaking his classmate out of his mumbling.

"I wanted to cook with my mom when I was ten, and it turned into bonding time ever since. Good food makes people happy, after all." Tenya took the last line out of context.

"You're right. In emergency situations, feeding the hungry and providing sustenance to the mind and body is an… essential part… of aid." the engine-quirk user turned to the rest of the freshman year. "The pro's are right! Let's make the best curry we can! Midoriya, since you seem to have the most experience in this field, please provide assistance to those who need it!" the newfound energy Tenya had was infectious as the rest of the students started picking themselves up and helping where they could. Soon, the freshmen were having fun while preparing their food for each other. Rikido, who had baking experience as opposed to casual cooking experience, asked for some flour and salt before making a simple bread dough to accompany the main dish, lifting spirits further.

When the food was done, everyone filled their plates with the aromatic meal. With assistance from those who knew how to cook, the dish was surprisingly tasty, making everyone go for more even after they were satisfied. When Koji, Toru, Itsuka, Nirengeki, and Reiko offered plates to the teachers, the heroes found that it was impressively good, given the lack of appliances the outdoors provided. Izuku, having his plate in hand, saw Kouta run off from his spot. Worried, he grabbed another plate and walked after him. He found the mental image of himself in a butler's suit funny, but kept himself from laughing. When he saw the child sitting at the mouth of a cave in the side of the cliff-face, the hero-in-training called out.

"Hey, I didn't see you eat, so I got you something." Izuku's voice was soft, but apparently, Kouta was still startled.

"How'd you find me!?" the child questioned in shock, to which the older of the two tilted his head at the footprints in the damp ground. Setting the spare plate next to the child, Izuku sat a respectable distance before eating his curry under the stars. After some silence, Kouta spoke his mind.

"Getting hyped about 'stretching your quirks' is pathetic. Do you really want to go that far just to brag about your corny ass powers?"

"Bragging is useless." Izuku stated with no inflection to his voice. "If someone, anyone, needs help, I want to be there to lend them a hand. I can only do so much, but I want to save as many as I can until no one's left to save. getting stronger helps me save them faster." his words cut deep into the child.

"How?" Kouta asked, shaking. "How can you say that with a straight face? Calling yourselves heroes and villains… killing each other like idiots. It's only going to get yourself killed, so how can you say that you want to save everyone!?" his voice was cracking as the bitter tears fell from his face while he looked away from Izuku.

"Then I'll die." his words made Kouta pause. "I want to help as many as I can because it'll make the world a safer place for everyone I care about after I'm gone." Izuku's choice of words brought to the child's mind to his parents; to the words they always said when they went out as heroes.

' _Let's go make the world a better place 'hon!'_ Kouta turned his head to see Izuku with his hand stretched towards him. The younger of the two grabbed his plate and scooted to the hero-in-training's side.

"Being a hero is still insane." Kouta mumbled. The older of the two laughed.

"You're not wrong." he admitted. "But sometimes insanity is saying 'no one's done it yet'." no further words were spoken as the two sat under the stars and ate their dinner.

* * *

All of the students had gone to bed after their fulfilling dinner, except for Izuku who was still out with Kouta. Ragdoll was sitting on top of a tree as she observed the teen carrying her friend's nephew back to the lodge with her quirk from somewhere out of her range.

"He really is something." she noted to herself. She didn't expect a response.

"He is." the Pussycat jumped in surprise before she caught herself on the tree trunk to prevent a fall from several stories up.

"Jesse-san!" she gasped as her heart calmed down. She couldn't understand how, but the UA therapist was the only one she couldn't track with her quirk at all times; when the she-wolf didn't want to be found, her quirk was next to useless. "When did you get up here?"

"I saw you here a while ago, so I came up to see what you were doing, and saw Izuku and Kouta-kun over there." she pointed to where they were, making the blunette realize that her companion could actually, physically see the boys in the dark when they were a little under 500 meters away. It was scary how much her heightened senses could not only pick up, but process.

"And you say your husband is the better than you." her tone was light but truthful.

"Physically he is, but his senses aren't as refined as mine. But enough about me, Izuku seems to be getting through to Kouta-kun." her words were filled with warmth as she talked about the duo.

"I'm glad. He never opened up to any of us, so it's good to see he can talk to someone." Ragdoll started to climb down the tree when the boys were back at the building with her impromptu companion. Hopefully, the week would continue like usual, but with her instincts saying otherwise the she-wolf wasn't counting on it.

* * *

I don't have much to say about this chapter, but do stay tuned; the strike team's attack is starting the next chapter! If you have any questions, let me know. I repeat this in every author's note, but I love hearing from you guys! Till next time!


	23. Raid (Part 1)

At the third day of training, Izuku finally asked the question that was on his mind since they left the city.

"Jesse-san, not that I don't appreciate it, why did you insist on coming to this trip?" turning her head to the teen, she gave a small smile.

"Due to my role as a counselor for you all, as well as my medical knowledge, the principal said that I'd make sure you kids are physically mentally healthy; at least, that's the official reason." the other students became interested in her last phrase, and she explained. "While I am acting as the medic, I'm also another staff member that can help ensure the safety of the students."

"What do you mean? If the school wanted to maximise student protection, then why didn't they send someone like All Might?" Tenya inquired.

"Because that'd draw attention," Shouta explained. "The board of education is still paranoid after multiple run-ins with the League of Villains, so they wanted to give just enough staff to protect the students without giving away their positions. All Might going anywhere is going to be noticed, especially because we believe he's a target of the League. As a UA staff member, Cacciatore-san can act as a hero to defend students, if the pro's give her the okay to do so." when the tone was going heavy, Pixie-bob started meowing of all things.

"Allow me to change the topic; let's talk about what we have planned for tonight!" the blonde placed her paws under her chin and elaborated.

"We're doing an inter-class test of courage! Since you've all been training so hard, you get to play hard!" the excitement was building, making everyone work their hardest until dinner needed to be prepared. The food was made well once again and everyone was getting ready for the event. With class 1-B trying to scare 1-A first, everyone started to draw lots to see who paired with whom. Izuku managed to pair with Katsuki.

"I ain't scared of shit." he proclaimed. Izuku smirked.

"Are you sure? 'Cause I remember something scaring you in third grade. What was it? Oh yeah! The ma-" he didn't finish as the blonde got him in a chokehold.

"Say it! I fucking dare you to finish that goddamn sentence Deku!" their antics elicited laughs from the other students, making Katsuki let go of his rival.

"You fuckers wanna start something?!"

* * *

"This isn't cute at all…" Himiko whined as she put the mask and earpiece on. It ten-thirty, and when the clock hit eleven, they'd attack.

" _I-I'll ma-make sure to a-alter it aft-after you-you get b-back._ " Archibald spoke on the other end of the earbud, back at base.

"Thank you Archie-chan!" the middle school girl squealed.

" _N-never call m-me that ag-gain._ " the mage warned, receiving no more than a verbal shrug.

" _Enough,_ " Tomura interjected. " _It's time to start soon. Everyone get to your positions._ " the vanguard started moving while Archibald moved the fifty flesh-golems he managed to create towards where they'd cause the most turmoil. The mage had no information of the present staff, so he wanted to get rid of the building they would be in at this hour based on the layout and left the puppets at the entrances to attack anyone going out. When everyone was at the proper spot, the signal was given. Mustard released his quirk and Dabi set a swathe of forest on fire. Magne and spinner struck Pixie-bob down in an instant. Over the earpiece, Tomura's laughing was heard.

" _Game on!_ "

* * *

"PIXIE-BOB!" Izuku shouted in worry as the pussycat was under the scaled person's boot.

"Greetings, UA academy! We're the league of villain's vanguard team!" the green-skinned man announced.

"How the hell are they here?" Ojiro questioned softly. In the background, Izuku subtlety motioned to Mashirao and Katsuki to charge from the right on his mark while Tenya and he would go left. The explosive blonde 'tsk'ed, but gave a small signal he understood with everyone else; Izuku had a plan, and he'd be damned if his stubbornness caused a hostage to be killed.

"It'd be a shame if my hand slipped and crushed her pretty head, wouldn't it? Feel free to share your thoughts on the matter." the larger man(?) taunted.

" **Over my dead body, you shit!** " Tiger growled, almost falling for it.

"Whoa whoa Magne, hold your horses, toots. You too, Tiger; Chill out". the reptilian man intervened. "The right over life and death, is all decided by the word of **stain**!" the words made Izuku and Tenya's blood run cold.

"Guess you really can't kill an idea." the engine-quirk user lamented.

"I don't think I've formally introduced myself," the scaled man spoke while drawing the blade on his back. "The name's Spinner, and I'm the one who carries stain's dream!" the large sword was shown out of its cloth, revealing a mass of knives and blades held together with weld and steel cables in the rough shape of a sword.

"Tell it to someone who gives a shit!" Tiger ground out. Before he could say anything else, Izuku gave the signal and Katsuki launched himself at Spinner with Mashirao following close behind while making a low profile. A moment after, Izuku and Tenya charged Magne. Izuku was concealing his presence best he could by drawing in his chi; something he knew how but never got around to practicing. The explosive teen blew the mockery of a sword to bits with an earth-shaking blast while his tailed partner knocked Spinner as far as he could with a roundhouse kick. The Izuku smashed into Magne's bar and launched the large woman away as Tenya gingerly picked the injured hero up and retreating back to the other pro's.

"Shit, shit, shit! I spent a long time on that sword!" the Stain-fanatic swore. Mange decided it was a good idea to bring backup, and spoke the keyword.

" _Auxilium_." the one word had caused the waiting flesh-golems to burst from the foliage. With chitinous armor, rotting stench, and quiet footsteps, they looked like hellish knights. Izuku knew what they were and called to Mandalay.

"I know what they are! The quirk 'Reanimate' makes corpses move as the user's puppets! I don't know how many the person can control though." It was a lie, but only in the fact it wasn't the result of a quirk; it was a twisted form of _necromancy_. The pussycats nodded.

"Permission to act as heroes?" the green-haired teen asked, and when he was given the affirmative, he told the others where he was going.

"I'm going to check on Kouta at his spot. I'll call if there's trouble." not waiting for a response, he ran off. He heard Mandalay's telepathy send its message.

" _Everyone! Multiple villains have invaded with what have been confirmed as corpses made into puppets; Everyone has free reign to act as heroes, even Jesse._ "

* * *

Shouta was talking with his fellow homeroom teacher and Ragdoll when he heard Mandalay's message. He ran out the door with worry on his face.

'They weren't supposed to be able to find us here! Did they plant a bug? What about a spy among the staff back at UA, or-' his thoughts were cut off as a puppet was right beside the doorway he was just passed through. It's spiked arm flew at the night hero, forcing him to dodge. The golem had struck the earth with enough force to kick up dust, but with the assistance of capture gear, the puppet was stopped. There were a few moments of struggle before it went limp, losing the magic and becoming nothing more than a cadaver once more. There was a small noise behind Eraserhead, making him turn to another golem. He backed up while calling for Blood King.

The one who answered wasn't him.

A large, furred, and clawed hand gripped the puppet's head before it was torn off the golem's shoulders with a twist and leak of blood. When the corpse fell, Eraserhead saw something he didn't expect.

"Fiara?" the werewolf looked at the night hero before answering.

" **Not quite.** " the voice was softer and more feminine than Anima in his transformation.

"Jesse-san." he corrected himself, and soon more differences were becoming apparent. Fiara's fur was a gunmetal grey while hers was lighter like a stormcloud. Her form was also slimmer, with a more feminine profile.

" **And I was hoping to soak in peace, but no, they decided now was the best night to attack.** " her voice was laced with irritation. She was still wet from jumping out of the hot spring, but now she didn't care. Her yellow-orange eyes almost glowed under the moonlight at the prospect of her kids in danger.

"Clear the forest of these corpse dolls, and send any students over here to regroup." Eraserhead wasn't going to stop the one who seemed to have the best chance in the forest at this hour, so he decided to make sure the rendezvous place was clear of enemies for his students.

" **Your students will keep fighting, you know that.** " they both knew the teens enough, and she was right.

"Tell them at least. With a sneak attack, there may be injured." Jesse nodded and ran off into the woods.

* * *

Real Steel And Battle Fist were in a quirk user's fog. Yui ran to the lodge to get both Juzo and Ibara, who had passed out from the sleep gas, to a safer place. Tetsutetsu had thankfully run into Momo beforehand, and she had made gas masks for him and Juzo with spares.

"The fog get's thicker this way, so the origin must be over there," Itsuka noted.

"Let's kick the bastard's ass!" the steel-quirk user shouted before charging headfirst towards the villain he couldn't see, leaving the class president behind.

"That idiot!" she spoke to herself before chasing her classmate.

BANG!

The sound of a gunshot hitting steel rang out, making the ginger-haired hero panic before hearing the musclehead roar. She ran into the clearing to see the middle schooler responsible for the gas and Real Steel without his mask. Thinking quickly, she cleared the smoke by enlarging her hands and fanning the gas away. The youngest turned his head and aimed his gun at her, but was interrupted.

"Back the fuck off her!" the steel hero shouted before throwing a fist-sized rock at the gas-user's helmet, breaking his mask off.

"Shit!" the gas started thinning before the user succumbed to his own quirk, leaving him wide open for the UA students to knock him out.

"Thanks, Kendo-san. I owe you one" the steel-clad teen said between breaths.

"No problem, but call me by my hero-name; we _are_ acting as heroes right now." Real Steel laughed.

"Good point. Thanks, Battle Fist. let's keep going, there are probably more villains around." the class president of 1-B nodded.

* * *

"This isn't good…" Tsukuyomi pointed out needlessly to Tentacle. In front of them was someone eating the Flesh-golem the two had finally stopped.

"M...more…I need...more...lovely flesh… more beautiful… meat…" he groaned through the mouth clamps that kept his mouth opened. When he turned to the heroes, the bound man's teeth made a crackling noise before growing out at incredible speeds. Tsukuyomi, caught off guard by the sudden attack, was pushed aside by Tentacle, who was cut rather bad as a result.

"Dark Shadow?" the bird-faced hero asked.

" _ **Aye?**_ " the other part of him merely responded.

" _Him!_ " there were no other words needed. The teen's rage had boiled over, and he remembered what he was told when it happened.

'You can only suppress emotions for so long. If you want to control an emotion like wrath, you give it a target.' Jesse's words echoed in his mind.

" _ **HELL YEAH! I'M CUTTIN' LOOSE!**_ " Dark shadow roared as the shade attacked the vanguard member. Spear-like protrusions came from the leather-bound man, piercing through the ethereal being's body, but doing no damage. Dark Shadow launched the cannibal through trees, easily breaking bones and rendering the man unconscious. With such a large crash, a couple dozen corpse-knights made their way to the sentient quirk's position to know what happened.

" _Go for it._ " Tsukuyomi encouraged.

" _ **MORE FUN FOR ME!**_ " Dark Shadow raged. There was only a single thought that made it's way in Dark Shadow's host as he controlled the monster.

'This is the first time I agree with him during black mass.'

* * *

I planned to go further, but that'd take me more time, so Cliffhanger! There were less close calls in canon, and there's going to be more to come in the next chapter. To be honest, this entire deal felt disjointed to me, even in the manga, like in Pulp Fiction. Anyway, next chapter focuses on Ochaco and Tsuyu, Jesse, And of course, the Muscular fight! If you have any questions, comments, or even ideas, tell me! I still read every single review I've gotten so far. Till next time!


	24. Raid (Part 2)

I must apologize for the delay in uploading, but Halloween is a larger holiday than Christmas for my family, so my life became hectic. This chapter wraps up the Raid arc, but not in the way you'd expect. I hope you enjoy this chapter!

* * *

Jesse was running across the forest, jumping off branches and charging across the ground, when she heard a someone talking.

"I've captured Ragdoll, now I just need to grab the other two targets." in the underbrush, the she-wolf saw a man in a magician's suit and white mask talking over an earpiece. In his hand was a black marble, maybe a centimeter in diameter, which Jesse could feel the pussycat's aura coming from it. Still hidden, the she-wolf silently launched herself from cover straight towards the magician. She grabbed what had to be her new friend before throwing her knee into the man's lower spine hard, eliciting the bones to release an audible _crack_.

"Fuck!" the man swore in both shock and pain. As he hit the ground, Jesse wasted no time in running away. While her husband was a warrior, she herself acted more as a (mostly) non-lethal assassin. With Ragdoll in hand, there was no reason to fight, especially when she didn't know what his abilities were or the way they worked. As the distance increased between herself and her opponent, the marble grew in size until it was entirely replaced by Ragdoll.

"The heck just happened? One moment I was waiting for the kids, then everything went dark… the hell?!" she exclaimed, now in a bridal carry by the werewolf. The blunette squirmed until Jesse released her.

" **If you could calm down for a second, I'd like to get you up to speed.** " even through the rumbling nature of the monster's voice, Ragdoll recognized who it belonged to.

"Jesse-san?!" a clawed finger was held over her lips as the she-wolf explained everything that happened until now.

"I gotta contact Mandalay." within a moment, the childish woman was replaced with a veteran hero as she contacted her teammates with her headset.

"Mandalay, I'm here, give me a link, and I'll get you everyone's positions."

" _Ragdoll! Thank god you're okay, but I'm in a fight right now._ " the redhead announced over her telepathy. With that in mind, Ragdoll used her quirk and mapped out where everyone is on the touchscreen that connected to every member's visor.

"I'm going to head to my team for cover. Are you going to keep running around?" Jesse nodded with trepidation, knowing something was up.

"Izuku's at the cliff with Kouta and a villain. Go give support if you can."

* * *

Muscular was confused. It wasn't the fact that the kid Tomura wanted dead was fighting him, or that he was managing to keep up with his movement; the part that was confusing him was that the rush of combat _wasn't there_. Instead of the high he felt when fighting someone, he felt like his senses were going through a filter and calming him down to the point the adrenaline wasn't kicking in. he wanted to get pissed, but even the anger wasn't coming up.

' _The hell is he doing to me? My skills are still there, so he can't be altering my head. Maybe he's controlling my emotions? Can't be, he could end the fight right now if that was the case._ ' the mass murderer's head was going a hundred miles an hour trying to figure out what was going on, and Izuku was making full use of it. With so many thoughts running through Muscular's mind, his reaction time was slowed as he was fighting on autopilot instead of focusing like he should. The teen's body was creaking under the stress of his quirk going at twenty percent, even as he reinforced himself with chi, but he was thankfully able to keep up with his opponent's insane speed. Izuku's muscles burned while his bones groaned like worn gears. Muscular overextended his punch once again, and Izuku dodged just right to step on his arm and put a kick briefly powered up to twenty-three percent right into the larger man's temple. Muscular fell to his knees, dazed out of his mind as the martial artist dropped an ax kick to the back of his head, knocking him out.

"H-how did…" Kouta murmured behind the cover of a large rock.

"As strong as he is, he's still human; one good hit in the right place is all it takes to end a fight." Izuku answered, gasping for breath from the minor adrenaline crash the fight the fight left him to deal with. Kouta came over to his hero to help any way he could. The teen turned his head to face and gave a reassuring smile. He saw movement in the forest below and braced himself for another fight. When the source of the movement started climbing the cliff face, Izuku relaxed at the sight of his aunt figure.

"Jesse! The villain mentioned that the target of the raid was Kacchan! We have to go over and tell Mandalay!" during his shouts, Jesse made it up to them.

" **Worry about your injuries would you?** " she groused; he was covered in small cuts and bruises. " **Do you need me to get Kouta back to the lodge?** "

"I actually wanted his help with the fires." Izuku noted before kneeling in front of the child in question.

"With the fires spreading through the forest, it's next to impossible to regroup or escape. We need your quirk; can you save us this time?" Kouta's eyes were watering, but he gave a solid nod. Izuku projected his chi as he patted the kid's head with the same smile he used to assure him everything was fine.

"Thanks." turning to the only adult on the cliff, the hero continued. "Help him put the fires out while I go to Mandalay and tell her. Keep him safe!" the green-haired teen shouted as he let One for All course through him as he ran down to the forest below.

* * *

Ragdoll noticed that Izuku had split up from Kouta and Jesse (whose signature appeared for only a moment), and was running in her direction, probably towards Mandalay. When he was close enough, the blunette called out.

"Midoriya-kun! You heading to Mandalay?"

"Ragdoll?" the teen burst from the bushes, and the hero could instantly tell how damaged he was. Her quirk told her that many of his muscles were hyperextended if not torn, he dislocated his left wrist and was hosting a multitude of other minor injuries that were covered in dirt, making them vulnerable to infection.

"The hell happened to you!?" she nearly shouted. Looking down at his battered form, Izuku shrugged.

"Ran into a strength enhancing villain; he's unconscious right now, but that's for later. Do you know the fastest route to your teammates, and are you going to them as well?" Ragdoll grinned at the teen's blunt questions.

"Yeah, I do, and yes I am." seeing the martial artist nod and walk towards her, she knew what he was going to ask.

"Mind if I-"

"Go for it." she cut him off. She saw the speeds he could go at during his quirk training, and he was much faster than her. The martial artist nodded again and kneeled for her to get on his back. With her instructions, the two managed to get over to the other Pussycats faster than by himself. He saw Tiger and Mandalay having trouble with the flesh golems. When Ragdoll used her quirk on the puppets, she shivered before shouting.

"Pin them! If they can't move according to command, the connection's lost!" her teammates moved accordingly, and Izuku jumped into the fray. With the knowledge to take the golems out, they started falling rapidly until only Magne and Spinner were left.

"As much as I hate to say it toots, we may hafta run." the scaled man admitted. The large woman nodded before turning on her earpiece.

"Magne here, we're outnumbered and outmatched. Warp us." after saying her words, Magne and spinner made a break for it. Izuku charged after them, but Magne pointed the south end of her massive magnet while using her quirk on him, launching the teen backwards while pushing herself forward. Tiger caught the airborne teen before turning to his newly reunited teammate.

"Ragdoll, good to see you're safe. Coordinate with Mandalay and regroup everyone." he put down Izuku and rushed to Pixie-bob to finally give first aid, to which the hero-in-training followed to help.

"Where's Kouta?" Mandalay asked.

"Jesse-san is with him dealing with the forest fires." the teen said without looking up as he held the downed pussycat's head up for Tiger to wrap in bandages. Ragdoll tapped her friend's shoulder before speaking.

"If he's with her, I'd feel bad for the villains who'd attack them. Now let's give the kittens a fighting chance." with the pussycats together, the heroes were no longer going to be in the dark.

* * *

" _Tenya and Ojiro, start going down the path to your left. Asui and Uraraka need assistance. Girls, they'll be coming behind the villain you're facing. Todoroki, you and Bakugo head to the fires nearest to you and meet up with Shoji and Tokoyami, then head to the start of the trail. There's a villain on your tail, so be quick about it._ " with Ragdoll able to give precise locations of everyone, Mandalay was getting everyone to group up while making sure no one was facing a villain without backup. Blood King and Eraserhead were rounding up the flesh golems, as they had the best quirks and tools for the job. Izuku was dashing around the forest with medical supplies he gathered from the lodge and giving first aid to whoever needed it before moving to the next position or carrying the injured student to an adult or another group of students.

Unfortunately, the vanguard squad was also acting as a team.

" _The target is south of Himiko by four hundred meters; break off and go to Compress twenty-five meters east of you. Magne, pull the Rin kid away from his group and brain him. Then make some noise so the heroes waste time on his injuries._ " Tomura was using Archibald's magic and remaining golems to cause as much chaos as needed until they could grab the target. When Compress got within range of Katsuki, he activated his quirk and turned the student into a marble. Now they needed to get to where Kurogiri was going to warp them, or stay put long enough for Kurogiri to find him.

* * *

Izuku was going to Tsuyu and her group to help with any injuries they had gotten from the person they came across. When he saw Ochaco and Tsuyu with Todoroki, Tenya, Mashirao, Mezo, and Fumikage, Izuku called out.

"Guys!" the group turned to see the battered teen carrying a bag with a green cross on it.

"Hey, Izuku. Mind if I get some gauze?" Tsuyu asked and was almost immediately given a roll of the substance. "Thanks."

"I heard over the telepathy that Kacchan was with you guys. Did something happen?"

"What do you mean? He's right…" Fumikage's voice trailed off as he looked behind himself to see the student in question missing.

"If you're looking for **him** ," everyone turned their heads to see a man in a suit and wearing a white mask. "I just collected him with some magic." the man showed off a black marble. Izuku's eyes narrowed before he calmed himself.

"Call Mandalay." he whispered before yelling over to the magician.

"Don't suppose you plan on releasing him, do you Mr..."

"Mr. Compress is my stage name, and no I do not." the magician answered politely.

"If I may inquire as to why?" Izuku prodded while buying more time as he heard a soft beep from Shouto's phone signify the text was received.

" _Jesse, get to Izuku south of you. One is a hostage._ " Izuku was inwardly relieved that help was coming, but steeled his face in order to buy enough time for her to get to them.

"Someone of his disposition has no business on the side of heroes, not when we can provide a stage he can shine much brighter upon." At Compress's words, Izuku cracked a smile.

"I hate to burst your bubble, but Kacchan is more likely to blow your leader's face in than hear your group out, not to even mention joining you; he's dead set on being a hero, and I doubt the gods could sway him, let alone Shigaraki." the magician tilted his mask to where it looked to be smiling.

"That is none of my concern. I am merely following orders. You'd have to try-" he didn't finish his monologue as Jesse once again crashed into him. The she-wolf pinned the magician by his arms as Kouta dropped off her back.

" **Search everything he has. Stage magicians only flaunt things when they have something to hide.** " the students complied and found a half-dozen marbles on his person in several pockets. Jesse, seeing that none of them had her student's aura, pushed harder against her opponent's arms, driving him further into the dirt.

" **Not in the mood for tricks! Where. is. Bakugo?** " the woman's chi flooded the air with an almost murderous presence. Compress was sweating under his mask but still had enough wit to talk back.

"I don't think you'd kill me; not in cold blood, anyway. That's something villains do, not heroes."

" **Wouldn't be the first time.** " her words chilled everyone but Izuku, who already knew. The magician knew by her, it's, tone, that there was no bluff in the monster's words. He decided to cut his losses before dying a useless death and let the compressed Katsuki fall from behind his mask, to which Mezo quickly grabbed it.

"Having someone collect me seems to be a long shot right about now, and there are two out of three targets right before me…" he seemed to bemoan to himself, but Jesse recognized the ruse. Thinking fast, the school therapist pushed the two nearest people, Mezo and Kouta, as far as she could before a black mist covered her, Mr. Compress, and Fumikage.

"I hate to do things on the fly, but improvisation is a Magician's skill!" Compress said smugly before the mist disappeared, with all three people caught inside vanishing with it.

* * *

Again I apologize for the delay, but that is the end result of the raid arc for now! I found the pro hero's reactions lacking in cannon, so I wanted to emphasise the power of a well coordinated group lead by heroes that have been acting for twelve years. Next time is the aftermath of the raid. How will the heroes react, why was Jesse a target? Leave your reviews for criticisms and ideas, and I'll be sure to read them like always. Till next time!


	25. Planning

Fumikage was tensed as the mist dissipated, and he was right to be. Surrounding himself and Jesse was the members of the vanguard and the league of villains. Jesse was covering his back in case something happened. The man who named himself Mr. Compress was on the farthest wall from the heroes as he clutched his left shoulder. The raven-faced student remembered that his therapist had put the most pressure on the man's limb, and her current size seemed to boast a large mass. Nearest to the bar was Tomura. What shocked the student was that he had seemed to replace the arm he lost to his classmate with one that was black as the void.

"Compress…" Tomura stated with a dead voice. "You said you had two targets around you; this is only one, and an NPC." Fumikage prevented the ash-haired teen's words to affect him. If he was seen as insignificant, then he was underestimated; that, as Anima put it, was one of the best advantages a hero could have.

"It appears that she pushed Bakugo away before Kurogiri could warp us." the stage magician remarked. "This may still work, as the boy we accidentally collected has shown a remarkable talent for violence. Moonfish's battered form can attest to that, not to mention the destruction of many of Sir Archibald's golems." And there went the advantage of anonymity.

" **You are NOT touching my student!** " Jesse growled, making Compress move a step farther away. He'd already been injured twice via ambush, and he was relatively certain she was the one responsible for the first instance as well.

"I don't think you can stop them, _Mia Tempesta_." Fumikage whipped his head around at the familiar voice.

In the room was Anima.

No, that wasn't the martial arts instructor he knew. His skin tone was slightly off, and he was a few inches shorter, not to mention his eyes were a violet instead of the real Anima's yellow eyes. He looked very close, but not exact. The voice, however, was the same in every aspect; timber, pitch, tone, the only thing that was off was the smug undertone that he never heard the werewolf use before.

" **Dear?** " Jesse questioned in fear before shaking her head at the thought. " **No, you're not him.** " Anima's twin smiled.

"What are you talking about _mia tempesta_?" his voice was mocking, and it set the she-wolf's nerves on edge.

" **Don't you DARE use his voice!** " the air was becoming heavy, and Fumikage felt like he was in a den of wolves. He did feel a tap on his side from the trusted adult as she pointed to the door. No words were spoken, but the plan was heard.

"And if I do? I'm merely my master's puppet. He could make me in a year, so he'd just replace me, _mia-_ " the room exploded as Jesse launched herself at her spouse's fake before he sullied her pet name further. Fumikage used the atmosphere and diverted attention as cover while he ran to the exit. The Anima look-alike put his hand forward before intoning a spell.

"Dorimo." with her mind clouded by confusion and rage, Jesse wasn't as resistant as she would be normally. As the Latin phrase told her, the she-wolf collapsed into Morpheus's embrace.

"That was an amazing bloodlust! It felt like I was going to die!" Toga squealed, being the first person to snap out of their fight-or-flight response.

"And that is just a taste of why werewolves can be some of the most terrifying monsters on this plane of existence, topped only by dragons, spirit kings, and a select few vampires." the puppet looked around in curiosity before asking something completely off topic.

"Wasn't there a UA student here not too long ago?" this caused everyone to frantically search the area before realizing that he slipped away in the fight.

"FUCK!" Tomura shouted. "Kurogiri, find him!" the man in the mist nodded before disappearing. With only one of his three targets, neither he nor Sensei got what they came for in the raid. He was willing to try and make do with the raven-headed teen, but even he got away. Kurogiri came back after a few minutes shaking his head.

"You know what? Fine, fucking fine… seems werewolves are 'that one boss' in this game. With the NPC running off, we gotta prep for a counter attack. Puppet, get the bitch outta here." the Anima look alike bowed before turning to Toga.

"Himiko-hime, would you care to assist me in strapping the subject to the table in the workshop?" the middle schooler in question was nearly bouncing in place while nodding.

"Yay!"

* * *

Izuku was in the hospital for his injuries like almost every other freshman in UA's hero course. His wrist had been reset and his lacerations had been cleaned and wrapped. With a large part of his injuries relatively minor, he'd be out of the hospital by tomorrow at the earliest, or the day after at the latest. He grabbed the room phone to call home.

" _M-Midoriya residence, how may I help you?_ " Inko's voice came over the device in a small panic. The caller ID was a hospital after all, and her son was a hero-in-training.

"Hey mom, It's me. I just called in to let you know I'm fine." there was a small pause before the teen's mother started crying.

" _Iz-Izuku… Thank god you're safe. When I heard of the attack from the news, I feared the worse. Are you seriously injured? Do Anima and Toshinori-san know where you are? When are you coming home? do you need me to pick you up?_ " Inko rambled on like her son would often do.

"I've only got a couple of scratches and bruises, I'll call them in the morning, I'll be released either tomorrow or the day after, and I'll use the train." Izuku answered every high-speed question in order.

" _Alright dear. Just make sure you don't push yourself too hard._ "

"I'll try my best." Izuku promised. "Goodnight mom."

" _Goodnight dear._ " Izuku hung up just as Eijiro walked in the door. The redhead's face was filled with determination.

"We have a plan to get Cacciatore and Tokoyami back. You-" he didn't finish.

"I'm in. what's the plan?" he didn't even need to think about it.

* * *

 _It was an old building, maybe thirty years old. Fiara was taking the lead while Frostbite and Silvermane were behind him. The three charged into the old warehouse only to find a scene stripped straight out of a horror movie. Blood caked the walls and swathes of flesh were laying on the floor. In the middle of this, chained from the rafters, was their friend and fellow hero Cross-Stitch. He looked like hell, with his regeneration working overtime to keep him from dying and taking nutrients from other places in the body. The werewolf quickly cut his albino friend down, wishing that he could call Starhealer._

" _I didn't... tell them about the group." were the first words that came from Cross-Stitch's mouth._

" _No, you didn't. Rest up, and we'll get you to a hospital." Silvermane consoled._

" _I… did good?" it was wrong; this person was always a hyperactive bomb of chaos, not the weak and croaking skeleton he is now._

" _Yeah, you did good." Fiara congratulated. Cross-Stitch smiled as best he could with his emancipated form._

" _I'm glad to be... an outlier. I have a family now. If I pass, can I see… the heroes before me?" Fiara's heart clenched at the albino's morbid question. Thankfully, Frostbite answered for him._

" _Yeah, it's a grand cathedral, with every hero owning their own throne. They watch over the living as sentries, as their names inspire others to follow in their footsteps." she elaborated, always good at storytelling. Tears fell from the tortured hero's eyes._

" _I… I guess I'll see you at the throne… my family." his body's little strength left him, as he passed in Fiara's arms._

" _Cross-Stitch, Cross-Stitch! Nononono, Emil stay with us. EMIL!" the werewolf's shouts fell on deaf ears as the albino hero breathed his last._

" _GODDAMMIT!" it wasn't right. He had more to live for. His life was just starting to pick up after hitting rock bottom. But it was taken away by those with no morals. He was fifteen._

* * *

Anima woke up finding tears in his eyes. He reached for the place his wife always slept at, only to grasp at air. Her absence made his heart race in worry.

' _Where is she, and why the hell did I dream of that. It happened over a century ago._ ' his thoughts were interrupted by his phone ringing. He picked it up as the flood of memories from last night returned with a sense of dread.

"Anima Cacciatore speaking." He hears his disciple on the other line, calming him down a considerable amount.

" _Sensei, I just called to-_ "

"Hospital name." Anima interrupted. He knew his student was fine, but he wanted to see him in person.

" _-I'm… uh, Corellia Hospital._ "

"I'm coming over. I'll be there in twelve minutes." it would normally take ten, but hospital food sucked, and he was stopping for pastries.

" _Could you come in fifteen? I need to call All Might-sensei, and could you get me something better than the food they have here. Like dog food?_ "

"I'll have you know dog food's amazing." the two laughed over their horrid joke. "Yeah, I'll get you something. Anpan good?"

" _Sound's great. I'll talk to you in a few._ " the line disconnected as Izuku hung up.

"I'd be damned if he didn't want to help in the rescue. I've got fifteen minutes to think of a compromise. Why the hell can't good heroes be acquiescent to authorities?" he mused to himself as he got dressed. "Oh right, we don't know how to give up, and sentient lives are more important than dead rules."

* * *

All Might was not in the best of moods, but he knew he could be worse off. Despite the league attacking the students when they should've been hidden, only one student was called missing. Fumikage even managed to escape and contact the heroes. They now knew where their headquarters was, and thanks to Momo, the facility that contained the nomu's was also known. When the haggard hero turned to ask a nurse where Izuku was, his phone went off. After checking the caller ID, a hospital door opened to reveal the man of the hour.

"Toshinori-sensei…" Izuku pressed the end button on the hospital phone and Toshinori's phone ceased ringing. There was a long, awkward pause before Toshinori coughed.

"Hey, my boy. How are you holding up?" it was a stupid question, but the adult didn't know how else to start the conversation.

"I'm fine, they'll even release me today. What about finding Tokoyami and Jesse-san?" Toshinori couldn't help but smile as his inheritor worried about others before himself, despite the worry it gave him.

"We know where the villains base of operations are, and young Tokoyami had managed to escape and is now getting checked over downstairs." Izuku looked shocked, making the tall hero elaborate. "Jesse seemed to give him an opening to escape the building, and he hid until he could get to the police. They took him here for a checkup to make sure he was physically okay." the relief on Izuku's face was telling just how much his classmate's kidnapping was weighing on his mind. He wasn't even four feet away when Fumikage was captured, but there was absolutely _nothing_ he could do. Just when he was about to collapse against the wall in relief, something occurred to him.

"What about Jesse?" after saying she had helped Fumikage run away from the League, she wasn't mentioned at all. Toshinori looking down in shame said everything; she was still captured. The next words escaped the teen's mouth before he could stop himself.

"I want to help." there was no hesitation or doubt. By his unexpected firmness in tone, it may have well been a declaration.

"Young Midoriya, I can't do anything about that. If you get into a fight with All for One, or anyone for that instance, it'd be seen as an act of vigilantism." the haggard hero was torn; here was someone who had both the drive and abilities to help, but couldn't because of legal reasons. Izuku shook his head, not once looking dejected.

"Then I won't fight. If you think All for One is there, the fallout of you two fighting needs an evacuation in order. I can help protect the citizens from the rubble and falling buildings while you deal with him. If you ask any freshman hero, I bet my life that I'm not alone in the thought, and they'll agree to help." Toshinori froze. It made sense, and If Izuku was right, then there'd be up to _thirty-five_ capable extra hands. He sighed before speaking.

"I'll have to bring it up during the meeting at UA, but I'll see what I can do." it was the best he could do in his limited power, but if the other heroes agreed to it, they could take volunteers to make sure collateral was kept to a minimum. Toshinori left to talk to Tsukauchi before the meeting, but if he stayed a little longer then he would have caught his fellow teacher.

* * *

When Izuku brought his idea to Anima, he decided to bring as many of class 1-A together. With a couple calls and a few minutes passing, almost everyone in the class found their way in the room the hero 'commandeered'. Again the basic idea was given, and almost everyone approved. _Almost._

"What happens if the other heroes don't agree with it?" Tenya questioned. "We've already been in dangerous situations before, what makes you sure they won't say no?" it was a valid question, and Momo added her two cents.

"I agree. They may make a rule that tells us not to intervene."

"If it means someone will get hurt, fuck the rules." everyone turned their heads in shock at _Izuku's_ words.

"You don't understand the severity, Midoriya-san. If they so choose, we can be expelled, or even _arrested_!" Tenya pressed, but it didn't phase the green-haired teen.

"And?" there were no words to describe the confusement in the room; Izuku, the second shyest person in the room only topped by Koji, was saying that he was risking _federal charges_ to be a hero.

"If they expel me for trying to save a life, then I don't think I want to be at UA. getting arrested doesn't matter to me either; I always wanted to save people, I don't care about the consequences."

"You sure?" Anima asked. "You could be in the wrong for doing this." he already knew the answer before the first word escaped his student.

"It's _never_ wrong to save someone. My path is the Bahou de Lujing, and to not follow it is impossible for me." the teen's conviction flooded the room with his belief, even without chi. This was the power of someone carrying 'the Will of Heroes'. There was little that would shake their faith, and that conviction would easily turn infectious, making almost anyone stand up with them. It even empowered Anima.

"Good answer. I'll notify you where and when we act. I can't officially ask you to join, but if you 'just so happen' to be there, nothing can be done, and if I or another hero actually asks for help, then you can jump in. also, Izuku," Anima looked to his disciple. "You're right; no matter the laws, _It's never wrong to save someone_." no one in the room disagreed at the moment, and everyone was willing to be true heroes right at that moment.

* * *

This was a hell of a chapter to write, and I hope I did the characters justice to you guys. The hardest part was actually the Toshinori and Izuku scene, oddly enough. I'm finding more and more in the manga that I missed my first time reading them because I have to read and re-read the chapter insanely carefully to make sure I don't misjudge the characters. If you think I'm doing awesome, or if there are many holes in my thinking, let me know! You guys have no clue how much I love hearing from you guys' reviews. Till next time!


	26. Hero's Initiative

This chapter is thanks to a close friend of mine sitting down with me to write the damn thing from noon to eight. Tony, you're awesome.

* * *

"I don't like the idea of making the little listeners fight with us pros doesn't sit well with me" President Mic responded to All might's idea. The staff at UA were having their conference at the moment, about how to tackle the League of Villains. Fiara stepped in to sway the argument back to the student's favor.

"We wouldn't make them do anything; we are granting them the _option_ to assist in securing the area and evacuating if things go south. They are not going to fight unless we deem it so bad us heroes need more hands. They have the nomu and those walking cadavers on their side, and we need to put that into consideration." Snipe joined into the discussion in a neutral position.

"How can ya even be sure they'd even want to help at this point? I don't think I'd be willing ta fight after the dangers they had if I was them." It was a valid point; trauma was a real threat after what they experience, and freezing up in the field was a death sentence. The werewolf simply pulled out his phone and pressed on a recording.

" _You don't understand the severity, Midoriya-san. If they so choose, we can be expelled, or even arrested!_ " there was a voice that many teachers knew was Tenya's. Everyone understood at that moment that Fiara had actually talked to the kids about the prospect.

" _And?_ " Eraserhead groaned at the familiar voice of his most headache-inducing student. " _If they expel me for trying to save a life, then I don't think I want to be at UA. getting arrested doesn't matter to me either; I always wanted to help people, I don't care about the consequences._ " the teen's voice startled everyone but the most unflappable. For anyone to say such thing was courageous, but to hear those words from a _child_ …

" _You sure? You could be in the wrong for doing this._ " All Might looked at the martial artist with suspicion for trying to hold their student back; neither he nor his fellow teacher cared about rules much. Izuku's next words told him the result of that question.

" _It's_ never _wrong to save someone. My path is the Bahou de Lujing, and to not follow it is impossible for me._ " Fiara paused the audio as the room went dead silent. There was nothing anyone in the room could say against that kind of raw conviction without sounding like a hypocrite.

"Bahou de Lujing?" Nedzu picked up the conversation with the simple inquiry.

"Chinese for 'path of the protector'. It's the name of the martial arts path Izuku made for himself. Basically, he decided that he'd use anything I taught to be a hero that protects those who can't protect themselves." the silence pervaded until the principal brought up another flaw in the plan.

"We still have to deal with our public image." Fiara cringed at the phrase. He never cared much about his image, but in this age, a hero losing face was almost as bad as a crime boss losing face.

"I may have an idea on how to deal with this…" Eraserhead admitted. For all the problems the idea had, it was very practical.

* * *

Fumikage was nervously twitching in the back area, waiting for the signal to present himself. His nerves were acting up, but he pushed through. This was going to help his friends and make saving Jesse easier. The woman had risked her own well-being to ensure his safety; this was the least he could do to help in her rescue.

The buzzer above the exit went off, telling him it was time. Pulling down his suit's edges to remove any wrinkles he could, the raven-headed teen walked out to the conference table. When he came from the left of the stage, he had to squint at the powerful lights and flashing cameras. After bowing to the crowd of reporters, he took a seat by his homeroom teacher.

"Due to the appropriate actions of our staff, our young student here was able to escape capture from the Villains who attacked the training camp. He is one of several students that have volunteered to help in this crisis." Nedzu spoke calmly to the crowd. A reporter stood up to ask a question.

"And what of the student's well being? They say that a hero urged the students to fight, but the collateral that transpired from that decision had many students injured and even some that are still not conscious. What can you say in defense of the students when you are urging them back into a fight that hurt their classmates, or even themselves?" his words were meant to get a rise out of them, but Fumikage didn't let the words ruffle him.

"It is true that many of my classmates are injured, but before we are students, many of us like to believe ourselves as heroes in the making. The idea to assist in this event was actually instigated by my friend and fellow classmate, Midoriya, and not the staff in any fashion. His words that had inspired us freshmen to act were that 'it was never wrong to save someone'. Because of our held beliefs in the preservation of our society, we decided to convince the heroes to let us aid in this endeavor." while he did recite the speech, nothing he said was false.

* * *

Togusa Soichiro was usually a calm man, but upon hearing the report of the League of Villains and their recent activities, he decided to call to his contact his superior in the International Bureau of Quirk Rights and Regulations.

" _Jack Harkness speaking._ " the other person on the line answered in English with a dull British accent.

"Sir, It's Togusa Soichiro. I have a report; The League of Villains have staged a kidnapping on UA. one student and one staff member." The office worker's English was a little fractured, but he was concise in his delivery.

" _While unfortunate, I don't see a reason this could turn international. What were the victim's names?_ " Jack seemed to be an old hand at knowing when things were off, otherwise, he wouldn't bother to ask.

"The student was a Tok- sorry, Fumikage Tokoyami. The staff was a… Jesse Cacciatore." after the woman's name was mentioned, the line went dead silent.

"S-sir?" the government worker's voice dropped in volume by a fair piece.

" _What of Jesse's husband?_ " the question was so out there for the man, it took a small time to search the spouses' file.

" _Anima Cacciatore is a licensed hero since three months ago under the hero name Fiara. He's part of the rescue team for Jesse._ " not that he would blame him for wanting to save her.

" _Make sure the rescue team gets any resources they require._ " Togusa heard the other phone hang up, and decided to get to work.

* * *

Fiara was waiting for the hero Edge Shot to arrive. Most of the other heroes could feel his fury, and gave the werewolf a wide berth; some idiots, however, thought it would be a good idea to do otherwise.

"It seems you don't have confidence in other heroes, Fiara." Endeavor taunted. He didn't like Fiara because of his removing Todoroki from his 'possession' and found this a good time to get a little petty revenge.

"I do have confidence in heroes, but then there are people like _you_ joining us." the martial artist's unsubtle barb pissed the flame user off even further.

"And what are you implying by that? I had my license longer than you." The number 2 "hero" tried to use his experience as leverage, but it didn't phase him.

"And I've been saving lives since I was in my mid-teens till now, and I'm older than you. I don't think of you as a hero because you don't do what makes a person heroic." the werewolf's voice was clipped and held no respect for the flame "hero".

"Why you-" Endeavor didn't get any further as he laid a hand on Fiara's shoulder. The werewolf grabbed the Flame user by the center of his shirt with his left hand before pinning him to the nearest wall and a foot off the ground. Endeavor tried to make Fiara let go but was noticeably weaker than the infuriated martial artist. The room seemed to heat up as the literal monster projected and _manifested_ his aura. Behind Fiara's shoulder was, what appeared to be, the black spectre of a wolf's head with golden eyes and gleaming fangs. The werewolf's manifested wrath made the area go cold, despite the rising temperature.

"I do not care for your inflated ego, nor do I have the patience for your petty bullshit. If you are here to do your job, then fine. If you are here merely to aggravate me, then **leave**!" Fiara dropped both his manifested chi and the man that was slightly larger than him before picking up the swords he brought and storming off. Out in the corner, Nitro gave a small whistle.

"Gotta hand it to ya, Deku. your teacher can be scary as shit when he's pissed."

"I've only seen him do that once…" the aforementioned Deku shuddered with a pale face. Soon enough, Nedzu called that everyone had arrived.

* * *

There was another scream from Jesse. The Anima Look-alike had been hearing them ever since he started collecting data from her. He now had several skin, blood, flesh, and bone samples from her. His master would be pleased. The she-wolf's bonds kept degrading from her attempts of chi, but a quick spell fixed that issue. The puppet was about to take a large sample of ocular tissue before there was an explosion above.

"What on earth…" the Anima clone had started to wonder, but decided against investigating. When he turned back to the table, he realized his mistake; when he lost focus, the magic that bound her had weakened. Jesse's bindings broken, she attacked.

* * *

While All Might, Kamui Woods, and Gran Torino moved in to capture the villains, Edge Shot and Fiara went to search for the hostage. The werewolf found her scent and rushed to the lower level. When he and his temporary partner kicked the door down, the younger hero went pale.

"Good god…" there was an operating table covered in blood with several tools by the wayside similarly coated. Following the trail of blood had Jesse kneeling over a corpse.

" **Tempesta!** " Fiara's voice echoed on the walls, making the other hero wince at the volume. Running at full force, the werewolf kneeled by his wife's side. Her flinching at his approach hurt him far more than anything physical ever could. Putting his hand on her shoulder, he spoke as softly as he could in his current form.

" **Are you alright? What happened?** " he could see the silent tears falling on the ground.

"I-it was using your voice…" she pointed at the corpse in the room. Fiara was shocked to see someone look like him, but it was secondary.

" **Edge** **Shot, go back up. I've got this.** " the ninja hero didn't argue and left the bloodstained room. Fiara, without another word, grabbed his wife's sword from his belt before giving it to her. Her hand carefully wrapped around the scabbard as the she-wolf calmed down instantly; nothing was quite as comforting like having your sword in hand.

"Thanks, Mi Caballero." her smile made Fiara's heart soar knowing she was feeling better. Jesse started to transform and the monstrous couple made it back up to ground level to see the heroes fighting several nomu. Without hesitation, Fiara jumped towards the nearest abomination and kicked it into another one trying to grab Kamui woods from behind. He called over the earpiece he had.

" **Mandalay, let the kids fight.** "

* * *

" _Mandalay to all UA students: you all have authorization to engage._ " the students came in from the perimeter and started laying waste to several of the nomu.

Tail Man and Invisible girl were working together to trip and bind one with capture tape while Froppy and Grape Juice disabled another. Nitro and Thermal shock decided to make it a contest of who got how many opponents while Real Steel and Red Riot were plowing through nomu together. Mimic was switching between quirks left and right as many of class 1-B and 1-B gave him samples to copy from. Binder and Glue Man were subduing many opponents together and Scyther was trying to keep the nomu from spreading out. With all of their proper hero equipment, better organization, and more prep time, if they weren't able to take on the abominations by themselves then they could more than hold their own.

" _There's a problem at the nomu base! It seems that the creator of both the nomu and corpse puppets are over there! Fiara, Endeavor, All Might, get over there as soon as you can!_ "

* * *

Again, thank you Tony; you made me stop procrastinating and put the whole chapter together. The next chapter is on its way soon, as I now have gotten through the roadblock and have a solid plot to lay out. As always, leave a comment for me to read and I'll be more than glad to read it. Till next time!


	27. The Past Caught Up

I have decided to not hold myself to deadlines; they screw me up so bad.

* * *

Jesse had kissed her lover before he went off with All Might to be a hero. In her hands was her wave-patterned Jian, Mo Ye. Anima found and gave her the blade for their twenty-first anniversary while he kept Gan Jian, the other blade in the set, for himself. The familiar wooden grip calmed her as she confidently walked out to assist the heroes and her students. Kicking off the ground, the she-wolf launched herself at a nomu going after Froppy.

"Kero!" the frog girl croaked in shock. "Jesse-san…"

" **Like hell I'm going to let my kids fight while doing nothing. Besides, My orders of engagement haven't been revoked yet.** " she grinned.

"Then go help Invisible Girl! We're good right now!" Grape Juice shouted while chucking his balls at every nomu that got in range. Jesse nodded before running off in a beautiful and bloody dance of claw and steel.

* * *

 _Death_.

That was the first image that came to Deku's mind as he saw the man with the metal apparatus, All for One his instincts told him, decimate the surrounding city blocks with sheer brute strength. But even that wasn't the scariest thing.

The mage that was with him was.

Even as he wore a black tie and vest over a charcoal shirt and a well-made coat, the tainted magic was palatable for the teen even with his subpar mystic awareness. Black veins covered his sickly pale skin and his eyes were sunken like a corpse.

If All for One felt like death, the mage felt like _Pestilence_.

Luckily, support came in the form of his two teachers. Fiara landed first before going after the closest one, the magic user. The mage blocked the strike with the surrounding earth… and then braced? Deku filed the fact away for later.

"Y-y-you s-sure got, got here f-fast, Ba-Battle Wolf."

" **That magic... you should have died, Iskander.** " Deku heard the familiarity in his teacher's voice. Where did they meet?

"I d-don't-t want, want to here th-that f-from you. You and y-your p-prize were b-b-born with what, what humans c-c-could only DREAM OF!" the named Iskander shouted before the earth rippled. Stone, dirt and gravel formed spears that lashed out at the werewolf. Fiara jumped on the lowest ones before striking at his opponent again. Twice the earth blocked before Iskander responded. Then Fiara did something Deku hadn't seen him do in combat.

He drew his sword.

It was a large Miao Dao with a bone handle and steel fittings. On the blades right flat was a vine with six leaves while the left flat had a phrase which was the sword's very name.

 _Memento Lapsis_ ; Remember the Fallen.

Deku pulled his gaze away to examine All Might and All for One's fight and saw the other two titans giving and throwing some of the strongest hits he'd seen to this day. All for One was throwing hail marys and using insanely powerful quirks left and right to keep All Might on him and away from Tomura. All Might, however, hadn't been friends with a martial artist for over a year with nothing to show for it. Using a low stance, the symbol of peace was deflecting heavy blow after heavy blow while countering with fast and controlled punches. Izuku kept cataloging every piece of information he could behind one of the only pieces of cover in the area while waiting for an opening of any variety. Moving now would make him a target, and with the large clearing around him, everyone would notice. For now, he'd keep in touch with Ingenerate and help him and his classmates rescue and keep the civilians out of the crossfire.

* * *

Fiara dodged another batch of earth pillars before running behind Iskander. That thought still troubled him. Iskander Archibald was a student of Alexander Grey, another Outlier. The feeling of wrongness in his aura told Fiara just how far he went for his so-called "perfect immortality". The Iskander he remembered was of Indian descent, not British like his facial structure is now. With how damaged his soul felt, Fiara could safely bet he relocated his soul into another host, but he put his worries away. This was a fight, and who his opponent was is irrelevant.

Memento Lapsis screamed at his friend's student once again and was blocked by the barrier of earth once more. His blade glowed red hot from the friction of biting into stone. He really liked how well martin repaired it. His trusted sword, ever since the metallurgist reforged the broken shards with Hephaestus all those years ago, never again needed to even be honed. Without being made from the best materials by the best blacksmiths, the glowing hot blade would have snapped long before now. More earth was thrown at him, and again he twisted out of the way of the spires he could while deflecting what he couldn't. He didn't avoid them all perfectly though, and the werewolf's upper thigh muscle was ripped from his body.

Fiara gained distance while holding his guard up, letting his body repair the damage in under three seconds. Iskander then decided to pull a fucking revolver and pointed it at Fiara.

" **You and I both know that won't work.** " he stated.

" _On you._ " the mage said matter of factly before pointing the gun at a random civilian in the way. Fiara rushed over to protect the kid and saw the warm glint of metal in the cylinder.

'Fucker brought silver rounds' Fiara took the first bullet to the left shoulder, breaking through skin and muscle with ease and burning all the way and stopping at the bone. Gritting his fangs, the werewolf ignored the disproportionate pain silver had on him.

Iskander's defense was next to impossible to get through. His blade would sink into the rock before the mage could even register his attacks. Moving half the speed of sound meant nothing if it was blocked. There had to be a way around it, he just didn't know it yet.

* * *

All Might was scared beyond belief. He felt the embers of One for All fading rapidly, and he couldn't hold his muscled form any longer. With a hissing of steam, the symbol of peace returned to his haggard self. He deflected another strike, but with his lesser body mass, he was sent flying. Trying to regain his bearings, he saw backup in the form of Gran Torino. All for One Managed to grab the elderly hero before forcefully activating his jet quirk. Dodging his backup, while thankful for the moment to catch his breath, All Might decided to go for broke. Planting himself firmly on the ground, All Might used his strongest move. Stamping down to generate extra force like Anima showed him, All Might called his last gambit.

"UNITED STATES OF SMASH!" the impact ripped the crater apart once again, probably catching Fiara and Iskander in the blast radius. Puking up blood and falling to his knees, All Might breathed a sigh of relief.

*step, step, step*

'No!' All Might looked up to see All for One walking towards him heavily battered, missing his headpiece.

"You did good, but it seems the embers have left you for good now. Goodbye." it was so sickeningly polite, All Might couldn't help himself but glare.

* * *

Deku saw what happened, and time slowed down. First, All Might's final attack was massive and created a dust cloud twenty meters in diameter. Second, a random piece of rubble had actually struck Iskander in the arm with enough force to bruise if not outright break it. Third, All Might was down, and Fiara needed to deal with his opponent fast. Deku saw his opportunity and jumped on it. Picking up a rock, the green-haired hero threw it at the mage as fast as he could, activating the man's defense and catching him by surprise.

"Fiara-sensei! His defense is based on intent!" Deku shouted before doing something he was sure to piss both of his teachers off; he charged All for One. Using One for All 20% and reinforcing himself with chi as much as he could even at the cost of self-harm, the only thing running through Deku's mind was keeping his hero alive, even for a moment using 100% of One for All's power at the moment of impact.

'I don't care what I have to give, I'm not losing him!' with that thought, Deku didn't notice the green flame covering his left arm, or the dark wisps that accompanied it.

"Get the hell away from him!"

* * *

Hearing his disciple's words, Fiara couldn't help but grin at the child's ability to analyze. The werewolf lined himself up with the mage and shut the world out.

'When thoust knowledge exceeds thy sensing, one will no longer be deceived by the illusion of thy senses.' the internal phrase was a form of self-hypnotism he used. Shutting out every sound, every sight, every feeling, every smell, and every emotion, Anima went through the kata he made and tried to perfect through the centuries. A cut from mid-torso to left hip, and a mirror of a strike to the right followed by a cut straight down in a single moment. He could never capture the three stroke kata on camera, nor could many people understand what he did, but with near perfect movement with the blade he had before he was a hero, Anima seemed to move in three places at once with naught but pure skill and finesse. When his senses returned, Fiara saw that Iskender had avoided the strike from left to right, sporting the two cuts from right to left and straight down. Even through the mages grimace of pain, the awe in his eyes at the strike was unmistakable, as was his laughter.

"Hahahaha! L-l-looks lik-ke i-it's my, my loss. I sh-shall ret-t-treat for now." Iskander fell backward into his shadow and teleported away to lick his wounds. Fiara turned to check on the other fight in the area and promptly froze at the sight of the green and black fire in izuku's off hand.

" **Nonono DEKU, STOP!** " his warning was too late however as Izuku did something monumental reckless. Fiara knew the technique, as he used it before, but on someone purely human like his student, it would cause insane amounts of self-damage.

"Get the hell away from him!" Deku shouted before unleashing hell on the multi-quirk monster. Even All Might's united states of smash paled in comparison to the hero in green's punch. What would normally have been an impact on the scale of a half-ton of TNT, like his mentor could unleash, was charged with the power of sacrificing his arm into a force with the kinetic equivalent of a Tomahawk air missile. Thankfully, Deku aimed the blast at what Fiara, Iskander, All Might, and All for One had already destroyed, so no civilians were put in harm's way.

" **fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckFUCK! Deku, DEKU!** " Fiara charged where he last saw his student.

* * *

Deku was glad that he got to All Might in time. He felt drained, even though he was only in action for a maximum of twenty seconds.

'Chi manipulations can do that to you' he reminded himself. Over the ringing in his ears from the blast, his blast, Deku heard Fiara coming towards him while calling his name.

"I'm here, sensei." his voice sounded so distant like he was across the room from himself. Fiara appeared from the dust in the air back in his human form.

"I'm going to get on your case later, but how are you? Your arm in particular." it was an odd question to the teen, but he guessed that it was borne of worry.

"I'm fine, I don't even feel it." something was off about his words, but with the setting exhaustion, he couldn't grasp why.

"Shit." Fiara apparently did and was beating himself up over it. "Let's get you to a hospital then. Don't know what they can do, but it's worth a shot. Until then, get some rest, you've more than earned it." Deku nodded absently before succumbing to the pull of Morpheus with the helicopter overhead.

* * *

Fuck yeah! That was an epic showdown! Now before you ask, yes, Archibald is a mix of ideas I got from the fate series to make my own. Deku saves the day, and this will change things in the background. I'll probably do a wrap up of this arc in the next chapter before starting my own arc (and I am doing that). I feel like I could have done better from All Might's side, but for now, it's like that. Give me a review if you want and I'd be happy to read it, praise or criticism. Till next time!


	28. Consequence

Warning, there are some heavy and emotionally charged scenes in this chapter. You have been warned.

* * *

Izuku woke up in the hospital once again, feeling sore in the legs from the rapid exertion back…

"All Might!" Izuku shot up as the memories flooded back. The two monsters that could hold their own still fresh in the teen's mind. His thoughts were interrupted by a solid hit to his head.

"Dumbass! First thing when you wake up is not worrying about someone else. Lay back down." Anima chided, pushing his student to the bed. "How're you doing?"

"I'm too used to being hospitalized, but okay otherwise." the hero-in-training mumbled. "What happened after I passed out?" there was a long breath from the werewolf before a sigh of exasperation.

"One for all was captured, Iskander got away, the media found out Toshinori's true form, and I've been watching over you until you regained consciousness. Now that you're stable enough to stay conscious, Jesse and I will finally go back home." Anima recited the facts.

"Jesse? Oh." Izuku mumbled as he saw the woman in question sleeping on the couch and using her husband's lap as a pillow. There was also the fact that the couch had been moved for her to do that while the martial artist was within arms reach of his disciple.

"How's she doing?" there was another smack as Izuku was struck upside the head.

"What did I just say about worrying for others?" Anima sighed. "She'll be fine; we've gone through worse together. She made of strong stuff." there was an awkward pause in the conversation before Izuku asked another question.

"How long was I out?"

"It's been twenty-six hours since your dumb stunt, now _sleep_." Izuku nodded and closed his eyes.

Three. Two. one…

"Wait, WHAT! Oh crap mom must be worried sick!" the teen reached for the phone. Anima pointed at him with a glare that could melt rock, making Izuku freeze.

"If you don't lie the fuck back down, then so help me, with entire pantheons as my witness I will _nail_ you to the goddamn bed!" the martial artist commanded with a fire behind his voice. Izuku's instinctual fear did just as good a job at keeping his back on the mattress as any physical restraint could. The two shouting managed to dreg Jesse up from her sleep.

"You're up… that's good. Get some rest, Izukun, and we'll come back in the morning. We'll bring Toshi and Inko then." she groggily noted before stretching. Izuku looked pensive between Anima and his wife before giving up.

"Alright." the teen sighed. "Can you call a nurse? I don't think I could sleep well right now, and I'd like to take some sleep medicine." Anima nodded and did just that. The nurse on standby gave Izuku a shot instead of a pill like he thought, but he didn't care. Anima said goodnight before leaving. Izuku didn't even notice the wraps on his left arm, or the fact he never moved it once.

* * *

Anima and Jesse found themselves home for the first time together in a week, and nothing was as relaxing as that.

"Mi Caballero, you're still worried." it wasn't even a question, as he had yet to initiate a conversation ever since leaving the hospital.

"I know," he admitted, tears forming. "It's just… his determination reminds me so much of… of _them_. I just don't want him to die young like so many had." Jesse understood; a vast majority of old heroes had died before they even had a family. The youngest Outlier that was died hadn't even made it to high school before a random thug killed him. Neither of the two had a doubt that Izuku would risk himself to save even one more life.

"Hey," Jesse grabbed her husband's hand. "It's been a stressful few days. Why don't we _relax_ a bit."

"I still need to deal with Izuku's newest development, and call a few channels to-" Anima's thoughts froze from the softness of his lover's lips meeting his.

"Later." she whispered, kissing him once more. He returned it this time with passion.

"Thank you, Mia Tempesta. I'd fall apart if not for you." any thought about the future, good or ill, was forgotten that night as the pair of werewolves enjoyed every part of one another until sunrise.

* * *

Iskander had trouble healing the cuts down his body with magic. Mystic beings with that much presence made injuries hard to heal, he noted. Walking into the building he resided in, he decided to speed up his timetable a bit. Taking a meditative pose in his workshop, the mage started to control his sleeping piece. One contract ended, but he still had another resource.

* * *

Chizome was keeping himself parallel to the ground while gripping the metal bars of his cell. His current goal was twenty seconds of absolute stillness. There was a guard coming his way, and the hero killer had to stop and step away from his cell door. He recognized the guard who came through as Kugutsu, but something was off. The woman would always at least be cordial with him as he was to her, but she hadn't even called out to him. She left a cigarette pack on his cell, and Chizome instantly knew something was wrong; she was allergic to nicotine, so there was no reason to even _have_ the pack. As she left like nothing happened, the hero killer swiped the coffin nails and opened the lid. Inside beside the actual cigarettes was a schedule for guard shifts, an ID for the locks, an address on the outskirts of Hokkaido, and a single note.

" _The contract has been fulfilled. Archibald_." Chizome gave a dark chuckle.

'Time to move then.'

* * *

Toshinori was tired. Reports for the police, press conferences for retirement, other paperwork, and now he needed to talk to his inheritor. Walking to the hospital, he saw Anima walking with Inko. His fellow teacher looked more relaxed than any other point in the last month. He waved to them, but Anima pulled his phone out, acting as if he didn't see him. Toshinori's phone went off, and he saw the message.

' _Wait a minute so she can talk to her son.'_ he nodded and made a stop for a coffee first. When Anima texted him it was okay to join, he brought a donut for Izuku. Checking in was easy, as the symbol of peace, hospitals didn't worry about him endangering the patients.

 _Former_. Former symbol of peace. God that thought was odd.

He heard talking on the other side of Izuku's door and knocked.

"Come in!" he heard Inko's voice call. He didn't want to face her after all her son risked, but he had to talk about it sooner than later. She had to have figured out who he was, so he didn't even bother to hide the fact. Hesitantly opening the door, Toshinori made his entrance.

"Here I am…" he called, sounding as cheesy as he could muster. "Coming through the door like a normal person!" Izuku smiled at the entrance.

"Toshinori-san!"

"Glad you came, Mighty-Pants." Anima teased. The haggard man smiled at the light tone. It felt nice to relax after so much trouble. He held the donuts to Izuku, who was beyond thankful for what flavor the hospital lacked in everything it served. Toshinori laughed and patted his inheritor's arm in jest, but noticed how the teen looked at his limb.

"Sorry, my boy. Does it still hurt?" Izuku didn't answer, but tapped his arm with his other hand.

"No... it never hurt." the realization dawned on the teen. "It never hurt, or felt like anything. That's not good."

"Understatement," Anima remarked sharply before hovering his hand over the offending arm. "May I?" Izuku nodded and the martial artist's hand lit up in a red-orange flame. Anima let the flames dance over Izuku's bandaged arm for a minute before the chi died down.

"Shit. You fucked your arm up bad." Inko started to worry.

"How bad is 'bad'? Will Izuku be okay? Is his arm going to heal?" Anima held his hand up to stop her.

"Nerve damage, and a lot of it. Izuku will live. It's not going to heal naturally." this shocked everyone in the room.

"How did I… I mean, I've never hurt myself that badly, so what happened?" Izuku was at a loss for words; Toshinori couldn't blame him. Breaking bones and tearing muscles, yeah All for One could cause that damage, but it didn't, _couldn't_ , cause nerve damage.

"Back at the fight, your fist glowed with chi, but different." the werewolf tried to find the words. "In the supernatural, there's the idea of 'equivalent exchange'. You give something, you get something. You put effort into power, you can use that power. You with me so far?" the bedridden teen nodded.

"Back there, at the fight, you did something monumentally stupid, and gave harm to do harm; you sacrificed your arm for a large amount of destructive force. That's why the impact was so big." Toshinori was trying to wrap his head around the idea.

"But, that was with his quirk. How did that outclass Toshinori's strike so much, if they should be comparable?" Inko asked.

"Because chi was involved, and that made all the difference." Anima answered. "Chi isn't an energy that _adds_ to something's strength; it's a _multiplier_. With the stockpiling quirk Izuku got from Toshinori, Called One for All by the way, the larger amount of chi meant a larger multiplier. The cost, however, was Izuku's arm." the room went silent. What else could be said? Izuku, to save Toshinori's life, gave up his entire _left arm_. His hero career, by UA rules, was over.

'UA cannot admit handicapped students in the hero course.'

The feeling of dread hung over the room to a suffocating degree. Izuku looked at his arm, then at Toshinori, then Anima.

"That's fine." The teen said. "It's only an arm, and I saved someone, so don't worry. I'd do it again anyway if the need arises."

SMACK

Izuku's head jerked to the side from the slap, shocking him. Izuku looked at his crying mother.

"Don't you _dare_ say something like that again young man! I don't know how you got that stupid idea from, but it sure as hell wasn't from All Might or Anima! I'm fine helping you be a hero, But _never_ say that you'd destroy yourself over it! You can't help anyone if you're DEAD!" The small woman's shoulders were trembling before the tears fell full force. Inko jumped at her son in a tackle-hug, holding him as if he'd disappear on her.

"I… I don't want to see my baby boy die…" Izuku held his mom tightly at those words.

"I'm sorry mom. You're right, I'm sorry." No one held it against the teen for crying into his mother like she was doing to him. After a few minutes, the mother-son moment ended.

"…So what's next?" Izuku asked.

"First, we need that arm of your's fixed before school starts back up." Anima said casually.

"You just said that it couldn't heal." Toshinori pointed out, but the Martial artist shook his head.

"I said it couldn't heal _naturally_. Magic can do insane things if you know who to go to. I have an old friend who may be able to help, but if it's too bad I may just have to call a higher power for a favor." The words Toshinori heard from his friend were insane.

"Magic? Higher powers? You honestly believe in that stuff?" he asked incredulously. Anima gave the haggard man a blank stare.

"I am _that stuff_ Toshi. Werewolf, chi, remember? Quirks aren't the only power out there. We call the supernatural side the 'Moonlit World', and it's been around longer than Mesopotamia." the way Anima was talking was like it was the most normal thing in the world.

"And This Moonlit World hasn't been outed how?"

"If you saw someone manipulating fire, or having wings, what would you chalk it up to?" Toshinori instantly thought of quirks, and realized Anima's point. "Yeah. Because quirks are more widespread, it's easier to get away with using magic. Otherwise, memory spells, staying out of the spotlight, and things of that nature keep it on the down low. I'd actually guess that of the 80% of the quirk population, 8% are actually quirkless and use the mystic arts to hide the fact. There are also those who have quirks and still are also a part of the Moonlit world." his answer was so logical that Toshinori had to hold back his disbelief.

"Fine, I'll let this go. Still, I'd like to go with you two." he amended. Anima shook his head. The taller man puffed up before Anima held up his hand and explained.

"As much as I'd like to, you need medication just to stay alive, and this will take us _far_ off the grid. I was planning on taking Izuku on a trip this summer anyway, so this will hopefully just be a single stopover." Toshinori still didn't want the two to go alone, but apparently, he wasn't the only one with that train of thought.

"Then I'm going to join you." Anima turned his head to see Inko staring straight at him with an iron will. "I may not be as fit as you or Izuku, but I want to be with my son in this endeavor." the werewolf couldn't help but smile.

"I see where Izuku gets his stubborn streak from." Inko blinked while Izuku gawked. "Alright then, that's settled. You're getting released today right?" the youngest in the room nodded.

"Leave tomorrow then?" Inko shook her head.

"If we're going out of the country, and I assume we are, then I'll need to get passports for Izuku and myself. I don't know how long that'd take." It was a valid concern for her. Anima nodded in agreement.

"I'll ask a friend to help us get them quick. We just need a birth certificate and it should be done by evening at the latest." Anima groaned before pulling his phone out. Toshinori knew that his friend must have had good contacts for speeding up that hassle. After Anima got a reply via text, his smile widened.

"All's good on my end. Be packed for a week for heat and a set of snow attire two days from now, and I'll pick you up. First destination: _Pripolyarny, Russia_." Toshinori couldn't help but think Izuku was in for a hell of a first overseas trip.

* * *

Yes! Izuku is going out of the country! The reason I chose Pripolyarny was simply because it's in the middle of f***ing nowhere (look it up, I dare you), and that helps me. This starts the original arc that I have planned, and you get to enjoy! I can play with some of the Boku no hero world a little. Not a lot, but a little. As always, leave a comment if you so wish! Till next time!


	29. Travel: Magic

This chapter is a LOT larger than my usual chapters, and once again sleep deprivation pulls me from writer's block! Also, thank you all for the (as of the time this is published) 310 Favorites and 366 Follows; you all are awesome!

* * *

Anima, Izuku, and Inko were at the Cacciatore's getting in the taxi for the airport. Jesse kissed her husband with a passion before letting him go.

"I'll be here when you get back." she said softly.

"And I'll be sure to come home." Anima smiled. Izuku gave a small hug to Toshinori, making the former hero pause; Izuku was nowhere near as physically reserved as the average Japanese, but Toshinori still was.

"I'll be back sensei." he grinned, making the haggard man feel better. The teen was still chipper even with his left arm in a sling strapped to his body.

"Do be safe, my boy." he worried. By the time the trio got in the taxi, Toshinori turned to the remaining werewolf.

"I'll see you around?" he asked. At her nod, he went back to his apartment. Jesse then went back into her house before starting to coordinate with the freshman class on a group meeting. Shouto came back from visiting his mother and asked about the group message.

"You all went through a hellish experience twice in under a week. As the freshman therapist, it's my job to make sure you're coping in a safe and constructive manner." the dual-quirk user nodded at her reasoning.

"It makes sense. But what about you?" his concern made Jesse smile, but she assured him she was fine.

"That's good. Can you… can we play a song? I want to cheer up." the school therapist's eyes lit up.

"Of course! What do you want to play?" the rest of their day was spent in the music room downstairs, Jesse teaching her music student more of what she knew while Shouto simply enjoyed the tunes they made.

* * *

On the plane, Inko and Izuku found out something new about Anima; the werewolf absolutely despised flying. While Izuku had found flying an amazing experience, Anima was gripping the seat hard enough to crack the plastic coating while closing his eyes and using meditation to keep calm. Inko, trying to help her friend keep his mind off the plane, started up more conversation.

"So who are we meeting? I don't think you've mentioned anyone from Russia before." Anima took a breath.

"An old acquaintance of mine. A sorceress to be precise. She never became an Outlier but married one. Oliver, the Outlier, was a monster with his spells, though his self-made style was based around self-modification." Izuku decided to pipe in.

"Self-modification? That sounds really risky." the martial arts master nodded in affirmation.

"I think he figured that Humans, while not having any definite weakness, had no real discernable strengths either. He figured out how to shift into many mystic creatures, including the one time he tried to transform into a dragon; that didn't go well." Inko shuddered. Dragons were known to the moonlit world as some of the strongest creatures in the universe, as they were more fragments of a concept than a living being.

"What happened? Please tell me he didn't kill himself." with experimenting with the supernatural, it was always a definite possibility. Anima shook his head.

"No, but he went berserk and sank Hood Island. _That_ was fun to try and explain." he laughed at the memory. "He only transformed into that one other time, and did a hell of a number on his enemy" there was a hint of melancholy in the werewolf's voice

"So what about his wife?" Izuku asked. Anima's eyes shadowed a touch.

"We may not like each other, but I can't deny her abilities in the mystic arts."

"How badly do you get along?" Inko asked in a worried tone.

"We never came to blows, but the bloody bat and I liked to throw insults at one another." the werewolf self-demonstrated. More and more of the talk had eased Anima's tension, but soon, the two humans had to take a nap.

By the time they woke up, the plane had landed at the airport in the closest town to their destination. Anima was more than glad to get out of the "flying steel can" and guide them out of city limits. Anima went behind a tree and turned into a massive wolf before motioning to his traveling companions.

" **Get on. It'll take us days to get there on foot, and the road to the old bat's home is hard to get to by car or bike.** " Izuku and Inko had never tried to ride a living creature, so it was awkward getting on, but the two had managed to mount Anima.

"This feels like a bad joke; A martial artist, his mother and their luggage mount a century old wolf…"

" **If you finish that sentence, I will throw you off. Now hold on tight!** " he warned. Suddenly, the three were speeding along, gradually accelerating until they were well past Formula One race car speeds. Even at the insane speeds they were going, Izuku, having a little trouble holding on with one hand, noticed how level Anima was keeping his torso, leaving him and his mother feeling like they were gliding along the ground. Inko was shocked and more than a little scared at first, but unlike the motorcycles her friends had, she found herself enjoying the ride enough to laugh.

* * *

A half-hour from the plane landing, the trio were in the middle of the woods, looking up at a gothic age castle with heavy oak doors, casting the entrance in shadow. Anima transformed back into his human form behind a tree. Dressed once again, the oldest of the group brazenly knocked on the doors with an impressive amount of force. After a minute, a pale, middle-aged man in a butler suit answered the door, being mindful of the light.

"We are not taking visitors. Begone." his voice held nothing but contempt for the party as he started to close the door. Anima stopped it from fully closing with an outstretched palm.

"Tell the master of the house that Anima is here to see her." the werewolf's voice was bland, as if he figured this was the outcome. The door opened slightly for the butler to answer.

"I will not disturb milady for the likes of you." The door closed once again in their faces. There was a palatable silence before Izuku looked at his mentor.

"Should we come back later? I mean if she-" the teen didn't finish as Anima disregarded any notion of civil, reinforced the wood, and kicked the massive door off of its hinges and into the manor. Inko, Izuku, and even the butler were stunned silent for a moment at the werewolf's brazen attitude.

"You _dare!_ " the butler shouted before baring his fangs charging at the master martial artist. Anima didn't hesitate and laid a punch into the man's face, launching him across the grand foyer. After the butler skidded to a stop, a voice called out.

"That is enough, Bertrand." Izuku looked up the stairs to see the owner of the voice and froze.

Her porcelain skin met blood red lipstick and a sharp jawline. Her eyes were vermillion with slitted pupils and long, dark eyelashes. Her dark brown hair flowed down to the base of her spine, framing her striking features like a picture frame. Her black dress clung tightly to her frame, accentuating every curve she had and while supporting her sizable bust and leaving a large area for the top to show. The air around her sang in elegant sexuality, making both Midnight and Mt. Lady look simply cute in comparison.

"But milady, they are a danger to you." Bertrand objected but was cut off.

"If Anima was honestly coming for my head, you wouldn't even delay him, now do not embarrass yourself further and make tea for our guests." as the butler was going to object once more, the air seemed to drain all of the energy from the room's occupants while progressively getting colder.

"It was not a request. _Leave_." her tone didn't leave any room for argument.

"Right away milady!" Bertrand nearly squeaked and left swiftly. Anima gave a chuckle.

"Nice to see you haven't changed much, Ordana. Still haven't decayed in these walls?" Izuku felt the room temperature rise around his mentor, but continue to drop around the lady of the house.

"Ah, well look what the wild beast dragged in! And it seems you haven't changed that boorish attitude either." she retorted as the difference in temperature continued to grow farther apart between the two.

"Um…" Inko decided to step in and de-escalate the situation. "My name's Inko Midoriya, and this is my son, Izuku. It's nice to meet you." the petite woman and her son bowed respectfully. Ordana smiled at the gesture while she walked down the stairs.

"Well it's nice to see such fine individuals, even if your guide wasn't the most eloquent." she ignored Anima's retort. "Welcome to my home, I am Ordana Kane." she introduced herself with grace. The vampire strode over to Izuku and looked over his features.

"You are a very comely individual." at her words, Izuku lit up like a Christmas tree. Ordana turned to his mother before giving a sultry smile.

"And it seems that these fine traits are from your progenitor." even Inko started to turn red at the seductive woman's advances. Anima started chuckling once more.

"As much fun it is to watch these two impersonate tomatoes, we didn't come here to indulge in _those_ activities. I need your help." The vampire turned to him.

"I figured as much. But let us go to the lounge instead of remaining in the doorway." with that, she called for her maids. Each of the five girls were their own brand of gorgeous, and Anima could tell by scent what "other" roles they had. Three of the girls took the guest's luggage and jackets while another set the collapsed door back into place before Ordana and the fifth maid led them away from the door.

* * *

"You are a reckless fool, but I commend your gall if nothing else." Ordana told Izuku after hearing the story. The vampire couldn't help but compare the fire in the youth's eye to her late husband.

"I'd like to say sorry, but I don't regret it." Izuku rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

'All fools are cut from similar cloths, but I can't argue that fools have their unique kind of charm.' she thought with a sigh.

"Can you fix it?" Anima asked bluntly as ever. Ordana leveled him with a glare. The least he could do was talk more civilized.

"I can repair the damage, but what will I gain from this?" she asked. Izuku and Inko's eyes shot up in surprise. The vampire gave an incredulous look in her eyes.

"Nothing comes free. A service for another service, or perhaps a good. I have the skills you need, but what do you have that I desire to give my time and energy?" her tone gave no allusions that she saw the three's circumstances as nothing more than a passing interest.

"What's the starting offer?" Anima asked with a serious expression. The master of the house tilted her head in thought. After a moment she pointed at the werewolf.

"Five," her finger moved over to Izuku. "And three. That is my price unless the damage requires additional reagents to heal." Anima stood up.

"No. If any blood is to be traded, then it's mine alone; I will not let you feed off my disciple." Izuku, now knowing what the numbers probably meant, went to calm his teacher down.

"Sensei, I'm the one she'll treat, so isn't it fair that I put something on the table too?" the master martial artist looked torn for a second before taking a breath.

"Still can't let you bleed three liters out; you'd most likely hit a stage three hemorrhage shock." he countered.

"Then how about mine?" Inko stood up. "He's my son, and that means his faults fall to me." she was scared of blood, but not enough to prevent her from helping. The vampire smiled at the offer.

"Then how about this?" Ordana compromised. "Five from the mutt, two from the child, and another two from the mother?" Inko looked confused, so she explained.

"Your son's blood holds more worth to me for two reasons. Firstly, as he said, I will be working with him; the magic behind such an act is more potent for me. Secondly, his blood is worth more because he hasn't partaken in what you and the beast have." Izuku looked at Anima for a better phrasing.

"What you haven't done that we have…" he pondered before it clicked. "Oh! She means that you're a virgin." Very little could have outshone Izuku's blush after his teacher's blunt words, but his mother's own blush seemed to try.

"W-w-why d-does that matter!?" Izuku half shouted, half stuttered.

"In the supernatural, personal value adds to the weight of something. You not having sex means that you have a little more mystic weight than someone who has. Does the term 'virgin sacrifice' ring a bell? Doing it naked would further increase the weight, as you'd be more vulnerable." Izuku blushed even brighter, making Ordana smile at him and her maid giggle, the helper sporting her own luminescence. With the attractive women showing their attention to him, steam started rolling off of Izuku's forehead. Inko had actually passed out from either from high blood pressure or embarrassment.

"You are enjoying their torment far too much." the vampire deadpanned. Anima gave an unrepentant smile.

"I can see how you think that. I may have gone too far with the naked part, but it was true nonetheless."

* * *

A few hours and nine pints of blood later, and Izuku was out cold from a combination of blood loss, exhaustion, and severe pain. When his nerves came back, he felt all of the damage his arm was in and managed to scream in agony loud enough to cause his throat to bleed before he simply passed out while Both Anima and Ordana tried to heal the rest of his arm. Inko held his other hand through the process all the way, but broke down when he lost consciousness; out of all the pain he was in, he never lashed out at her, not wanting to hurt her even when he was in hell.

She never felt more useless in her life.

By the time night had fallen, she felt exhausted, both emotionally and physically, yet not being able to sleep. Inko got up from the guest room bed, luxurious as it was, and started to walk around the castle. She was mildly surprised that the staff was still busy, but remembered what they were; their visit must have been the equivalent of a late-night intrusion. She found herself in the library, thinking a good book would help her sleep.

She should have known that a sorceress' collection would be as big as it was. The library was most likely the largest room in the manor, filled with two-story high bookshelves each containing books anywhere in age from almost new to older than parchment.

"I assume you're unable to find rest?" Inko jumped at the sudden shock behind her. Turning around, she found the master of the house at a lounge chair with a clay tablet in hand.

"I-I'm so sorry." Inko bowed.

"Do not apologize. I could only imagine what your state of mind is after seeing your offspring regaining nerves and tendons, strapped to a table no less." Ordana's words were soft, but still stung Inko a fair bit at the callous phrasing. nodding, she decided to change the subject away from her son.

"This is an amazing library. I've never seen this many books, or books this ancient." there was a soft laughter from the vampire as she handed the tablet to a maid to put away.

"Yes, My late husband was quite the collector, and I've taken the habit onto myself. A majority of the tomes here were gathered by him, despite myself collecting longer." Inko noticed the wistful look on Ordana's face as the older of the two reminisce.

"What was he like? Your husband, I mean. Anima talked a little about him, but it seems that he and, Oliver was it?" Ordana nodded. "It seems he and Oliver were close friends. To make friends with a werewolf, marry a gorgeous vampire, start a medical firm, and turn into a dragon; I wonder what kind of person he must have been." her words brought a smile to the widow's lips. It wasn't hard to befriend Anima, but she couldn't imagine the charm required to get the woman in front of her genuinely interested beyond a passing fancy.

"He was reckless, stubborn, foolish, and a playboy amongst the mystic entities." Inko suddenly got the picture of a stereotype rich-kid in her mind, but continued to listen.

"However," Ordana sighed wistfully. "He was also intelligent, caring, and driven beyond belief. He gained the title of 'King of Greed' due to his drive and stubborn nature. I still remember his words when we first met."

"You're beautiful?" Inko guessed. Ordana laughed like it was a joke.

"If he approached me like that, I wouldn't have noticed him at all. No, his first words to me were, 'I have decided you are for me to take, you just don't know it yet.' before marching off to challenge a dragon for a grimoire." Inko's eyes opened in shock; who in their right mind would even try those words. It painted a picture in her mind of what the person's life was like.

"Imagine my shock when he won not only the spellbook, but a mithril bracelet as well, and gave me the article of jewelry before asking me to watch the stars under the Stonehenge with him." the widow laughed as she showed the vine-like metal bracelet on her right wrist.

"My first thoughts were of curiosity. 'Why did this mere human think he could claim me so'? I soon found out there was nothing "mere" about him." the more she talked, the more the vampire's eyes shone with happiness.

"He showed me through the fey land of the celts to partake in the festivals the satyrs hosted. We traveled through Alfheim and Asgard of the nords to drink with the dwarves and elves. He made way to the council of mount Olympus to trade stories with the nine Muses." Ordana became more and more animated as she talked about the man she fell for.

"He showed me his magnificent study, filled with notes, gemstones, metals of all kind, reagents, and books upon books about every type of magecraft he could get his hands on, and I was the only other individual allowed to step foot in it. The more time I spent with him, the more I grew attached, until one day I realized his declaration on the night we met had come true; I was his, and his alone." her tone then seemed to mellow down a little as she continued on their life story.

"We worked on his mortal business, Kane Remedium, together, making it the best international medical company to date even as he had become the most powerful sorcerer and continued to delve into the edges of reality. But heroes don't often die in bed, and he passed from the effects of a battle." Inko saw a couple tears fall from the vampire's eyes, even as she smiled.

"I'm sorry…" Inko didn't know what else to say.

"You have nothing to apologize for; he died before your grandparents were even conceived. Even if he lived passed the fight, he only had a couple more decades anyway." her tears had finally fallen from her face, landing on her dress.

"Oh dear, even after almost two centuries, and his mere echo can still pull such emotions from me." there was a self-deprecating laugh from her as she looked at the clock above the libraries entrance. "We have been talking for some time. I shall have Alicia guide you back to your room." A redheaded maid, the servant in question, waited at the door. Inko bowed and left.

* * *

The next morning Izuku woke up in a very soft bed he didn't remember entering. He started to sit up when he felt a twinge of pain in his left arm, relaxing now that he could actually feel it. The once-crippled teen continued to remove the fine silk blankets, feeling the cold the stone around offered, making him want to dive back under the covers. He ignored the cold and started to go through a Kata to warm up and see how his newly repaired arm would respond to use. It was stiff and a few angles were painful, but other than a few more scars, everything seemed to function as normal.

"Sir, a bath has been drawn for you." turning to the door, Izuku saw one of the maids, the same one who carried his belongings at the door, standing there with a towel in hand. Izuku nodded in thanks before something came to mind.

"Thanks, but who changed me into my pajamas while I was unconscious?" the maid smiled and waved her hand. The admission made him straighten up.

"B-b-but I was wearing different b-boxers…" he stammered. The maid gave a giggle at his reaction before speaking up.

"Sir, you have nothing to be ashamed of. I am a maid, and I have changed men as is my duty. Now please, shall I guide you to the bath?" Izuku nodded and followed beside her.

"And you own a very charming physique." she added before the teen stopped at the door. Izuku once more went atomic, making the brunette giggle at his expense. He walked into the bathroom with the towel the maid gave him before he undressed and sank in the hot bath.

"Beautiful girls will be the death of me…" he murmured laughingly as he washed the sweat from the stress of last night.

* * *

After a good breakfast and the morning was over, Anima gave a small package to Ordana.

"For you to open a gate to a specific area." he clarified. Ordana opened the box and nodded.

"I accept the payment. And you wish to go where?" Anima gave a slip with an address. The maids hurried to gather the guest's belongings, knowing the door wasn't going to be opened that day. With everything in its proper place, the sorceress made a gesture to fold and cut a small hole in space. A slit of blue aura floated in the air before widening into an oval, showing a wooden interior on the other side.

"Thank you for hosting us like a decent person." Anima grinned, unable to resist the jibe.

"But of course. Maybe next time you can show me a new trick like a good dog!" the vampire shot back sweetly. Izuku and his mother both bowed to her once again.

"Thank you for your help!" they chorused. Ordana smiled at the gesture.

"None of that now." she told them. "Do come by again if you find yourself near my territory, but please don't bring pets again." the trio walked through the portal. As it closed, Izuku couldn't help but ask.

"Why do you two hate each other so much?" Anima shrugged.

"We just do. Neither of us know why, but neither of us are willing to let whatever it was go. Pride and obstinacy are two traits you will find in _spades_ amongst the moonlit world." neither Inko or her son could understand how they could choose spite just because of pride.

"Where are we anyway?" Inko asked. The three were in a small living room with simple wood furnishings.

"A house I own in the city." anima answered bluntly. "It's the closest I could get us to our next destination. Speaking of which…" he guided them to the nearest window to show the mountains and forest in the morning sun.

"Welcome to Shiyan, China."

* * *

Holy cow this was a long chapter! 4k words long in fact… I need sleep. Anyways, Happy Holidays everyone! With Christmas just passing and my birthday even earlier, I am now a year older! Anyways, yeah, Izuku's arm healed (mostly), we got some more lore about the mystic aspect, and now the group's in China! If you like this story so far, please leave a review for me to read. Till next time!


	30. Travel: Paths

Izuku was enthralled as his teacher, mother, and he walked through the Chinese city. He spotted some small-time heroes on patrol and tried to see what quirks they had, but Anima kept him from doing so. Stalls that held foods and trinkets that he never saw in Japan littered the marketplace they passed through. Feeling curious, he asked Anima if they could try something.

"Sure, but I get to pick; make you try something you wouldn't think to try." Izuku knew it would be something weird but nevertheless agreed. Anima stopped by a stall selling different things on kababs and picked a stick with scorpions skewered on it. The werewolf ate one before handing the kebab to his student.

"I should have known…" the teen murmured before taking a hesitant bite. "Tastes like shrimp, but firmer. Not bad." he then offered the stick to Inko, who paled and shook her head. The trio kept going down the streets until Anima pointed to a traditional clothing store.

"Been meaning to get you a uniform, but I thought that your first should be made by an expert. I commissioned one a little while back, but I never got around to having them mail it." he admitted before sliding the door open and walking in.

"Hello! How may I help you?" a little farther in the store was a young man in formal attire who greeted in Chinese. Inko, who wasn't as proficient in the language as Anima or her son, simply bowed without speaking, scared to mess up the language.

"Good morning sir." Anima returned. "I'm here to pick up the order for my disciple. The name I gave was 'Anima' over the phone." the young man nodded before walking them over to talk with a much older man, likely his grandfather based on looks, before bowing out to collect the outfit. The elder man gave a scrutinizing look at the werewolf before speaking.

"I never expected to see the infamous Battle Wolf in my life." he calmly stated. "Your stories didn't give you credit; even _I_ can see the inner strength bleeding off of your form." Anima gave a soft smile before sitting down in a lotus position in front of the master tailor.

"I thank you for the praise, Kan Shūn." As Izuku heard the surname 'Kan', he instantly remembered the family from Jesse's world study lectures; the Kan were the last few families that still used the Manchu-style of making chángpáo, or formal outfits. He looked at his teacher in shock, but Anima gave him a dead stare.

"No, I'm not worried about the cost, and no, I'm not telling you the price. Think of it as a late birthday present if it makes you feel better." Izuku didn't try and argue, knowing that it would be useless. the young man, who Izuku learned was named Kan Li from his grandfather, had returned with a folded parcel that he handed to Izuku.

"Thank you." the teen bowed. Looking at the package in his hands, he wanted to try it out before they left. "May I use your changing room?"

Kan Shūn smiled and directed him to the room.

* * *

Izuku was practicing meditation on the bus that would take them most of the way to their destination. The hero-in-training was pleased with the new attire he was wearing. It was a simple silk uniform made up of dark greens while a red dragon danced between the shirt's opening, held closed by knot buttons. On the back was the Chinese character 保護 (protector). The pants were also dark green, but they had lighter green vines running down the legs. The outfit also came with the shoes in solid black with leather soles, making his steps quiet.

All in all, it fit him to a T. It was comfortable, easy to move in, and also very responsive to reinforcement. According to Anima, who was wearing his own uniform in black and reds with the Chinese symbol 狼 (wolf) instead, silk takes to chi manipulating very well. If one was skilled enough, the soft fabric could be stronger than titanium with chi flowing through it. Inko thought that little tidbit was rather nice.

As the bus came to a stop for the first time in an hour, the three got out. Izuku looked up to see a small path leading up the mountain and asked his teacher how far they had to walk.

"It's an hour walk for most people." he answered. "And no, I'm not carrying you like in Russia." without another word, the master martial artist lead the other two up the path.

Izuku was fine with the walk, taking in the sights and sounds of nature as he kept in step with Anima. Inko, however, was not in as phenomenal shape and having a little more trouble. She had been learning tai chi from Jesse as a way to keep in shape for years, but she didn't have the dedication nor time to spend in the art like her son. After a half hour, she had to call for a break.

"I'm feeling light-headed at the moment." she admitted as they sat on the side of the road.

"I'm not entirely surprised. We have risen about five to six hundred meters in elevation. The temple is at a little over a thousand." Anima told her. Inko shook her head about the fact she was suffering from _altitude sickness_ while the literal monster was doing fine.

"What about you dear?" she asked her son. Izuku blinked before shaking his head.

"As you're getting higher, you're also getting closer to the temple, which has more chi surrounding it for you to draw from; your body is compensating for your lack of air with chi." Anima explained.

"But, I'm not using chi right now…" Izuku argued, but the werewolf stopped him.

"Not _consciously_ , but you're still using the breathing technique I showed you during basics, and that is using a small amount of energy." at his teacher's answer, Izuku realized he was right; back when he was still six, he was taught the basics until it became second nature before ever moving on to fighting. One of the techniques was how to breathe properly, and ever since he mastered it, he never stopped using it out of pure habit.

After a while, Inko was better and they started walking up the mountain once again.

* * *

At the end of the path, Izuku and Inko starred at the magnificent temple of red and green surrounded by clouds; Wudang Chen. At the entrance was a red-scaled woman meditating. As the trio continued to walk towards the gate, she opened her slitted eyes and stood up.

"State your business." she calmly demanded. Izuku could tell from the limited chi sensing he had that she had more chi reserve than an average person, making her feel larger than she was.

"I am here to show my disciple a home of the art. We are planning to stay here for a night and leave by morning." suddenly, the draconic woman wasn't the largest person as Anima let some of his chi project outward. Izuku still had to give her respect as she didn't show any outward emotion on her face.

"Enter then, but do not disturb Master Han unless necessary." at her words, Anima stopped.

"Han, as in Han Tūng?" he asked. Not expecting him to know the master's full name, she nodded in surprise.

"Are you an acquaintance of his?" the werewolf smiled.

"Something like that, but to think he became the master of the temple." Izuku heard pride in his teacher's words. As the trio, plus one, came to the main courtyard Inko saw many students practicing katas in sync. Their movements were like water, endlessly flowing from one move to the next almost seamlessly. As she and Izuku watched the students of the temple continue their training, a separate rustling of footsteps came from the side building. Looking over was a man well in his later years, but still in phenomenal shape. His bald head and long white beard seemed to make him seem even older.

"Master Han!" the red-scaled woman greeted with a bow. "There are people of the art visiting; one of them claims to know you." Tūng bowed slightly in response before setting his eyes on Anima. Cupping his hands and bowing more deeply, the elder smiled warmly.

"Laoshi!" he exclaimed. Inko recognized the word as 'teacher', meaning that she was looking at a disciple like her son was.

"Now now." Anima held his hands up. "Let's greet each other properly first." Tūng nodded before giving a respectful bow.

"Han Tūng, Kāimíng de Lùjìng (path of the enlightened)." he greeted. Anima mirrored him.

"Anima del Lupo Cacciatore, Lang de Lùjìng (path of the wolf)." he announced himself. Izuku came last, giving his greetings.

"Midoriya Izuku, Bahou de Lùjìng (path of the protector)." Han raised his eyebrows in respect. After the formal greeting was given, the master of the temple smiled.

"It has been too long, Laoshi. Sixty years and you haven't changed a day. You have even picked up another disciple over the decades." Tūng remarked.

"I taught you everything you needed before letting you follow your path. And you've been doing well if you became a master yourself." Anima reasoned. "And you know that the arts are dying. Too few people are finding the limits of their forms while only focusing on their power's limits." Izuku saw the sadness in the two masters. For ones who had dedicated their lives, to see your passion becoming obsolete over years must be heart-wrenching.

"And you, Midoriya." Tūng turned to the teen. "To choose a path that difficult. You must have a big heart to bear that burden."

"Of course it's hard; it wouldn't mean anything if it was easy." Tūng laughed at Izuku's straightforward answer.

"Indeed it wouldn't!" he exclaimed. "You have been going on a path that has created the greatest heroes, but also some of the worse monsters." Tūng's voice dropped a tone at the last part.

"How? It's never wrong to save someone, so how can monsters come from it?" Izuku asked.

"Because they find that if you can't save everyone, then you can make sure the lives lost outweigh the lives protected." Anima said solemnly. "The first Magus Killer, the Reverend of Dreams, Punisher, Sultan of Blood, even Stain fall under those who see the idea of '10 deaths to save 100 lives'. But I could never see you going down that path; you're too self-sacrificing." Izuku didn't know whether to take that as a compliment, an insult, or both. He decided on both.

"That's not to say other paths aren't as dangerous, just that yours can make that danger the most known." Tūng remarked. "My path is to become enlightened and one with all knowledge, good and evil. One can easily take this to mean that they can commit any act to learn more, and become monsters in their own right." Anima nodded before chiming in again.

"And mine is the easiest to deviate from. My path is to learn all forms of battle, for the sole reason of battle. If you fight without a cause, you're nothing more than a berserker."

As the trio of martial artist lost themselves in their own world, Inko turned to the red-scaled woman who led them inside. "Would you mind if I made us some tea?"

"Not at all." the woman responded, still looking at her teacher being warm with someone who looked younger than himself and calling him teacher. Inko, knowing where the confusion was answered the unasked question.

"Anima is much older than your master, he just doesn't look like he is." the two started to walk into the tea room as the three men continued to leave the world in their discussion.

* * *

Izuku and Tūng were in the sparring dojo, with soft wood floors, with Anima acting as the judge. Several students of the temple had also gathered to watch the two have a match.

'How did I get roped into this again?' the green-haired teen questioned. He remembered the talk going into how Tūng's path differed so much from Izuku and Anima's, and wanting to see how a path based on understanding differed from one based on practice. Anima then decided to convince his two disciples that a friendly match would help them both in different ways, and the next moment Izuku and Tūng were bowing to one another waiting for the match to start.

"Zhàn!" Anima called, and the spar began. For the first few seconds, Izuku and his opponent were circling one another, looking for any tells that would give an edge. 'His style seems to be more circular than mine, probably a wushu foundation, but his steps are lighter, meaning he's based on movement or redirecting instead of holding ground.' at this simple analysis, Izuku went on the offensive. Starting low, the teen had gone for a kick to the elder's legs, but Tūng responded by lifting his leg over and attempting to step on Izuku's upper calf. Izuku let him and used the momentum to spin, leaving the master off balance for a grab at his shirt.

Tūng placed his hands behind him to brace and backpedal before he was grappled and tried to reset his stance, but again and again, Izuku didn't give the master of the temple room to breathe until he himself had to catch his own breath. Tūng capitalized on this by resetting and turning on the offense, the flow of battle changing to match his tempo. Izuku blocked, redirected, and countered without moving much, but he took a couple grazing shots before he saw his chance.

A strike that hung in the air a moment too long.

Tūng grunted as he felt the teen's vice-grip on his sleeve and was thrown in a spiral, forcing him to roll. The elder of the two was shocked at the proficiency of his junior but still managed to find a foothold to stand, even as disoriented as he was. He saw the teen advance and knew his endurance couldn't hold up on the defense. Setting himself and channeling the tao of the world into himself, he struck with both palms, catching the teenager in the stomach and solar plexus.

Izuku felt the chi rush onto his body and unconsciously used his own life force to redirect it into the ground, leaving mostly the impact itself. Getting ready for another change in tempo, he-

"It's my loss." the room froze from Tūng's words. "To think you can control the world's energy so freely at such a young age, Laoshi was right in choosing to train your talent." Izuku smiled at the compliment, but shook his head.

"Thank you, it's not talent that led me this far, though a little may have helped; it was drive." he explained. "Ever since I started the martial arts, I saw the ideal hero I wanted to be, quirk or no, and chased after it without giving up or looking for a shortcut." As Izuku's chi projected across the room unintentionally. the various students that watched the match were humbled by the young teen's conviction. The elder smiled.

"Then I correct my statement; Laoshi was not wrong in choosing such a _self-driven_ student. Thank you for this lesson, and I hope you learned something to add to your path's advancement." Tūng bowed to Izuku as an equal, and Izuku did the same. They were still learning, as martial artists traveling down their respective paths. One was a scholar trying to enlighten himself to the higher truths of the universe while the other was someone who strived for a world without misery. they both shared a master who only wished to understand all of the secrets of battle.

None of the three would ever reach the end of their path, but the reward wasn't the end; it was the journey.

* * *

Inko watched her son through the tea room window as he practiced with weights against another student of the temple. Neither were allowed to use their quirks or chi, but both were holding their own even with Izuku's handicap and stiff arm. Izuku had been practicing with everyone who asked and won three out of four fights, though even Inko could tell he was starting to slow down. Fighting for an hour would do that to everyone but monsters like Anima.

"You must be proud of him." the red-scaled woman, who Inko found out was named Jun Sook, noted. Neither could speak the other's native language, but they could both speak English well enough to communicate.

"I am, but I still worry about him." the mother admitted. Sook tilted her head.

"Why? Master said he wouldn't fall into the darkness others would."

"It's _because_ of why; he destroyed his left arm trying to save someone, and I'm scared he'd do it again. It was only with supernatural help that he can even feel his arm, let alone move it." Sook looked at Inko's expression, and let her get out what was clouding her heart.

"Ever since my husband walked out on me and Izuku, I decided to give all of my time so my son gets the happiness he deserves. He thinks, no, he _knows_ that being a hero, a very dangerous job, is what will make him happy; all I can do, however, is watch from the sidelines as he charges head first into danger. It scares me that one day someone may knock on my door and tell me my baby boy _isn't coming home_." Tears fell from Inko's face as she, for the first time in a long while, could lay her heart down in front of someone who could understand, if only a little.

"I know it's what he wants, but when I saw him come home after the attack on his school with scars on his hands, I'm proud that he fought back. But in the back of my mind I hear a thought that it could have been worse, that it would be a teacher coming to my house, telling me that he died like a hero." Inko didn't know when, but Sook had come over to hug her head into her chest.

"I don't know what you are going through, but I will know that pain myself soon enough to give you some comfort; even if he does pass on, you can know he would have no regrets. Few can say the same." it wasn't much, but Inko felt her heart lighten at the thought. Recalling a certain part of the woman's words, the mother looked up.

"Wait, 'you will know that soon enough'? Do you mean-?!" Sook nodded with a smile as she rubbed under her navel. Inko forgot all her worries for that moment as she hugged the soon-to-be mother.

"Congratulations! Do you know who?" the draconic woman pointed out the window to the handsome man with a missing arm who was currently tending to the latest of the student's Izuku had fought. Inko couldn't help herself and hugged the younger woman in joy again.

* * *

By the time the sun was barely peeking over the horizon, Izuku, Inko, and Anima were at the gates as Tūng, Sook, and Sook's fiance waved them goodbye.

"Do not be a stranger, Izuku-bēizhí, Laoshi." Tūng bowed. Izuku was a little shocked to be called by the suffix that denotes ones equal, but bowed regardless.

"Do keep your son grounded. He'll need it." Sook teasingly warned as she and her lover bowed. Inko returned the gesture.

"I hope you find more on your path, Tūng-qiánbèi." Izuku used the suffix that denoted a senior to the same craft as oneself.

"Don't worry about me, I hope you two find more joy together." the couple smiled and nodded at her kind words. Soon, the trio walked down the mountain and arrived just in time to see the bus preparing to leave for the city. When they found themselves back in Shiyan, Anima guided them to the train station before paying for tickets to the closest stop to the next destination. When it was five in the evening, they departed from the train before finding a nice hotel for a night.

"Rest up Izuku." Anima warned. "Tomorrow is a challenge that you have to take before our next stop. Izuku didn't care, as Jet-lag was affecting him much worse than he thought, and he fell asleep. He didn't even notice the name of the mountain range close by.

Kunlun.

* * *

Yes! Kunlun, for you guys who aren't comic fans like my family or haven't seen the Iron Fist Netflix series, is a real mountain range that houses the make-believe city of the same name. It's speculated as the home of the first conscious use of chi, and due to the altitude is constantly in winter. Anyway, Izuku saw some more of the profound history of the martial arts and learned much about the Idea of the 'paths' martial artist choose; more specifically, how dangerous they can be if you fall from the path and onto another. We also get to see Inko's troubles, and what that means for her. To be honest, I took inspiration from people who're married to police and soldiers. If you liked it, please feel free to leave a comment. Till next time!


	31. Travel: Chi

Alright before we get into this story, _Saint of vice koncor_ has been a very responsive fan of mine in asking about the world that I made, and due to my nod at the fate series last chapter, he has asked me once again for knowledge. I usually keep things like this for PMs and such, but I thought it needed mention here. I like the characters and plot devices of the Fate series, so I took parts to spread into my world's history. So alternate universe versions of Kiritsugu, the three clans that made the grail system, and Shirou Emiya did occur in this world, but not enough to be more than passing remarks in history. Thank you _Saint of vice koncor_ for your ideas, and please continue to enjoy the world that I'm making. Now to the story!

Izuku was in the winter gear that Anima had thankfully warned him to bring, despite it being summer, and was trudging up the Kunlun mountain range. In front of him was Anima, carrying the teen's mother on his back as he continued his scathing pace. Inko couldn't last on this walk like he could, even as he felt his calves and thighs burning.

" _Keep pace with me on the trail, but know that I'm not slowing down or stopping for anything_." those were the words the werewolf had said at the mountain base before walking at a constant pace with Inko riding piggyback. True to his word, they hadn't stopped for a breather, water, or a snack. Anima just kept on trucking as Izuku followed behind as he tried to keep pace through the snow they had started to walk through.

They'd been walking for five hours.

Nearing eleven in the morning, Izuku was far past exhausted, but Anima never slowed down even as his student was falling behind. Izuku eventually had the idea to reinforce his stamina with chi and even One for All, but soon, his focus was slipping as the monotonous walk seemed to erode at his mind as much as his endurance. He didn't know how much farther they had to go either, as Anima refused to tell him, making the journey that much more mentally challenging.

He just hoped they reached the hidden city soon.

* * *

"Shouldn't we help him?" Inko asked Anima as she saw her son ragged and exhausted.

"Can't." the werewolf answered. "It's supposed to be a trial for anyone going to the city of Kunlun for learning to reach it by your own merit." he heard his disciple's knee hit the snow again before the shuffling of him getting back up.

"At least he's having it easier than I did getting there." the martial artist winced. Inko gave her ride a dubious glance.

"He's falling over exhausted; how could he have it better?"

"He has someone who knows the way he can follow behind." Anima started remembering his first time going to the city of chi. His sixth sense wasn't nearly as good back in his thirties, and he had to essentially play a bad game of 'warmer-colder' to find the city. It took him the better part of a month and a half to finally reach where he'd spend the next year of his life learning the secrets of the life energy that flowed through the universe.

"And the fact that we haven't stopped?" Inko brought him out of his reminiscing.

"A more roundabout way of helping his manipulation of chi." at the woman's glare, he continued. "Basic biology says he should have collapsed by now as his body is needing more oxygen than he's getting, but he's using chi unconsciously to keep going. If he keeps this kind of pace, then he'll reach a stage that he'd be reinforcing himself without thinking better than he currently is."

"What do you mean? Reinforcement, as I remember you putting it, is a way to strengthen something past its natural point by a multiplier." Anima nodded at her basic understanding.

"It is, but that doesn't mean that you have to think about doing it. Izuku's been using chi since the later part of elementary school." Inko looked at her friend with a perplexed expression.

"You didn't even mention chi until he started middle school." she noted.

"But he was using it regardless." Anima calmly intoned. "During his physical training, I was starting to give him tasks that would technically b impossible for his muscle mass, but he did them anyway by unknowingly using chi to strengthen himself. You remember him jumping over my property walls during winter break." Indeed she did. Izuku heard someone get hurt across the Cacciatore estate's walls, and cleared the seven-foot wall in a single jump while landing on the top before jumping down to the other side. They had only slipped on ice, but his physical feat was still impressive for someone his age.

"You mean he shouldn't have been able to clear it?" Anima shook his head.

"Not without doing a wall run, no." he admitted. "give him a couple years and specializing in high jumping and he could do it, but not that young and not without the specialization in that group of muscles." as they continued up the mountain, Izuku started falling down less and less. Anima started to smile as he felt the chi in the area becoming denser, letting him and his student drink in the energy like water in a dessert.

"He's also building his working reserves as he continually uses the energy, giving him more to reinforce, project, and sense with, including any special things he may learn later."

* * *

Izuku didn't know when it happened, but his senses at one point had numbed his exhaustion to the point it didn't even register as he took step after step behind his teacher. How long was he walking? Minutes? Hours? Days?

He didn't know and frankly, he couldn't bring himself to care.

He saw the electricity of One for All and felt the warmth of chi dance across his form again and again. He didn't try and keep them active, but it just felt _right_ to keep the power in his body coursing through like it was. Step after step became lighter as he continued trudging behind the inexhaustible werewolf he followed.

"Welcome to the city of Kunlun." Anima's words barely registered as the teen bumped into his mother, who was let down. Seeing her trying not to fall, Izuku held on to her as her legs were getting the feeling of use from all the time on Anima's back. After she was balanced again, Izuku finally realized that they had stopped. He felt his own legs give out under the abuse, but his teacher caught him, allowing him to focus on giving oxygen to his body with heavy, shaking breaths.

"Get some rest now; you've more than earned it." Anima told him gently. Izuku looked to his side and saw the setting sun over the valleys. Knowing that he had quite literally walked from sunrise to sunset, rest sounded really good at that point; so did some food and water, now that he thought some more.

Izuku took all of seven steps before passing out with exhaustion, leaving the world to Morpheus' domain.

* * *

When Izuku woke up, he was in a room he didn't recognize. The room was large, and there were a few people still sleeping around him on cots. He realized that he was still in the same clothes he wore under his winter gear as he started to get up. As he walked to the restroom to change into his silk uniform, he felt the presence of someone with power at the entrance of the sleeping quarters.

"Seems you're finally up. I am Xuan Li" the teen opened the door to see a man who looked young wearing a simple robe of yellow. "If you would follow me, breakfast is prepared."

"Where's my mother and Anima-sensei?" Izuku noticed the man's face twitch at Anima's name.

"Your mother is conversing with the other ladies as she acclimated to the mountain's lack of air. As for your, _teacher_ , he's in the arena with several students." again, Izuku noticed the disdain for the werewolf, but he didn't know why.

The two started to walk through the building and into the open air. Izuku, using his chi, felt his body warm as if a fire was burning in his heart and spreading through his veins. Now that he wasn't on autopilot, he felt the chi in the air possess a heavy weight that he could swear _tinted_ the area in a light yellow glow. His soul was taking in as much of the energy as he could while turning the mystic force into his own.

After taking a few turns Izuku and Li had sat upon the balcony, looking over a circular arena which Anima, wearing nothing but a pair of pants, and several martial artists were fighting. As Izuku was eating while watching his mentor dash around, he realized something with the other combatants by their chi and aggression.

"Are they trying to kill him?" he asked himself. He wasn't worried because the werewolf wasn't even taking the fight seriously, so he obviously wasn't in danger. Even in the twenty minutes he'd been awake, Izuku saw again and again how little the people in Kunlun thought about his teacher.

"Yes, they are." Li answered without looking away. "And should one succeed, they would be in favor of many families in the city." Izuku's head span fast enough to make a popping sound at the admission.

"What, why?" the teen couldn't understand the aggression, but Li gave him the reason.

"Several generations ago, the Battle Wolf had risen from an outsider to one of the most talented students of the grandmaster, even winning in the tournament between the Seven capitals as a third party, gaining much recognition. But after five short years, he had announced his departure. It didn't sit well with some of the elder councilmen that he had obtained so much and refused patronage from several families and was taking so many techniques to the 'common folk'; Cao, Chen, Quan, Gao, and even my own ancestors sent their best to try and prevent him from leaving, even against his will. When they became desperate, the fools decided that if they couldn't cage him, they would kill him." Izuku was honestly shocked but waited for Li to continue.

"When the families got word of what happened, it was far too late. Ten of the most promising warriors in decades were torn apart and left in the snow while your teacher ran off. The Cao and Quan families have never recovered to their former glory, as they sent their heirs into that massacre. When the news got out, they gave your teacher a title; Blood-Stained Monster. Later we received word that he gained another title, Battle wolf, making our insult to his name obsolete." Li took a breath.

"It is as much his fault as ours though; we were driven by envy, then greed, and now in wrath the families believe that his death will wash away the black on our reputation. He was simply acting as he is; a beast willing to learn." Izuku chewed on the story for a long while before finding it reasonable in their perspective.

"What about you then?" Izuku turned to his companion. "You said your family was also apart of this, but other than some mild distaste, you aren't going after him." Li laughed at the honest question.

"Because it wouldn't do anything. I could never match him, and even if I was lucky enough to do it, the past can't be erased. As long as there's not a repeat, I'm content to let the past fade." as their talk ended, Anima was done with his fight, leaving him standing in a field of exhausted martial artists. The werewolf strolled over to under the balcony and leaped up to meet with his student.

"That was rather fun, and yes, he was honest with the story; I killed them." Izuku was nonplussed at his teacher's blunt admission. "I was thirty, and not nearly as skilled as I am now." the teen didn't know how to see his teacher at the moment. Anima had always been a model for how to be a hero, much like All Might, but to hear that he had killed several people without even looking guilty was jarring.

"Thank you for looking out for my disciple." Anima bowed to Li. "I'll guide him to the chamber of the Iron will." without another word, the werewolf and hero-in-training walked beside one another.

"Before you ask, no. I don't let their deaths hang over my head; otherwise, my feet wouldn't move. I do, however, let their deaths _teach_ me. It's why I asked you to let me be a mentor; so you don't have to make the worst of my mistakes." it wasn't much, but Izuku let the words sink into how his mind.

'Remember, _not human_ ' he told himself before letting the matter drop.

* * *

The Chamber of the Iron Will was a simple room, with a rectangular design and no furnishing besides the incense holders in the corners. To Izuku, it looked like Anima's meditation room, just larger.

Spiritually, however, was another matter entirely.

The chi in the room was so _dense_ that Izuku felt like choking as the room was darker than it should be. The swirling energies were making mirages and illusions like a heatwave on asphalt. The scent of power was that of a fire, making the room feel hotter even though the wide stone walls should have done the opposite. Anima took a lotus position while Izuku mimicked him, the two sitting only an arm's length from one another in the center.

"I've explained how chi was the ambient life force of everything in the universe, and I showed you how to use your own for the martial arts. Now, I'm going to tell you about properties." Anima raised his left hand and lit a yellow chi flame on his index finger.

"This is what chi looks like when you unlock it or gather it from the atmosphere. We call this 'pure' chi, as it has nothing in it, like a clear glass pane. It's not that powerful, but it's less tiring to use for beginners and it's easily manipulated since it has no purpose." the flame went out before a red flame with heavy black lacing took its place.

"This is _my_ chi. Going back to the glass analogy, my spirit and soul have 'tinted' the chi, making it take the properties that encompass my persona. Mine is red and black because my very nature is destructive and dark. Not evil, but difficult to use in non-violent ways." Anima then gave Izuku instruction on how to imbue chi with his essence. After a while, a small, green flame was dancing on the teen's fingertip.

"It's like a heartbeat…" the student observed before the flame died.

"Because it might as well be one; _your heartbeat_ , to be accurate. That green flame contains almost everything that makes you, you. Try it with your left hand now." Izuku blinked in confusion at the request but did as he was told. The flame was the same green, but there were flickers of black in it. Looking at Anima, the werewolf explained.

"Your arm healed physically, but the sacrifice you made is still etched in your soul. This shows the darker aspects of you, the parts that want to destroy what endangers those you protect. As time moves on, the darkness may fade, or it may diffuse with the rest of your soul instead of staying only in your arm, or it could even grow more pronounced. No option is worse than the other unless you yourself don't want it, in which case it won't happen." Izuku sighed in relief. He knew intellectually that he influenced his chi and not the other way around, but hearing it from a trusted master was reassuring.

"So what are we going to do?" Izuku asked. Seeing his mentor's sweet smile shouldn't need to be that scary.

"We're going to make a trigger for you and build your reserves in here. Like stretching a balloon, the more chi you strain your body to keep, the more your body can allow later without straining. This will be uncomfortable to say the least, but I'll be with you to make sure you're unharmed." sweat trickled down Izuku's spine, but the other task caught his attention.

"Trigger, like the drug?" Anima shook his head vigorously.

"Like hell I'd let you take that shit." he said with mild disgust. "No, a trigger is a mental image that's used to force you into a warrior persona, or 'battle mode', at will. Depending on what the trigger is, it can let you go from 'Izuku' to 'Deku' in a split second, allowing you to react without freezing up." he explained.

"What trigger do I have?" Izuku questioned. Anima shrugged.

"No clue, that's why we're here." glancing at his student's deadpan look, he explained further. "One person I knew used the image of a gun hammer firing, another used the image of a firework. A whip crack, a hammer and anvil, a snapping bone, a knife going into flesh, a lightning bolt, there are as many triggers as there are those who utilize them. You have to make your own, something that's going to trigger your fight response _without_ your flight response."

"What's yours?" the teen asked. Anima smiled.

"A Flint rod being struck." he answered. "It lets me start the fight out strong enough, but I let the fire build in the back of my mind, sharpening my response over time even further" Izuku nodded in understanding before following his teacher's instruction to let the chi build.

This was the only three day stop for a reason.

* * *

That's a wrap! So now we get some more information about Anima's history, Izuku's training once again, and they have one last stop (okay two, but both are in a single chapter)! Next chapter, an intermission! What's going on back in Japan, and how's the rest of class doing? If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, let me know! Till next time!


	32. Back at Home

Jesse was setting out plates of snacks, waiting for U.A's freshmen hero-course to arrive. Shouto was in the living room with an acoustic guitar. More and more food was prepared by the she-wolf, knowing that teenagers had bottomless stomachs and was planned for accordingly. As she finished another plate of sliders, she heard voices outside. Through the several walls, she couldn't tell the words, but by Katsuki's angry shouts of "I'll fucking prove it!" and the laughter of everyone else, she was expecting it to be ridiculous.

Walking to the door, she heard more lines about proving a point and a growling noise. Bracing for the absurdity of teens with superpowers, she opened the door. Eijiro was laughing that his pants were sagging like a delinquent, Momo was hanging her head in exasperation, Hanta was laughing his ass off, and Bakugo was eating a belt. The last point should have been surprising, but to the century-old monster, it was only a passing thought.

"Oh honey, there are more appealing things to eat inside." she sighed.

"I told you that you couldn't eat leather!" Eijiro exclaimed while laughing further.

"No, you can, but it's hard to chew on." Jesse countered. "Now Bakugo, give him back his belt before you lose a tooth."

"Fuck no! I fucking said I could eat a belt and I goddamn will!" the blonde ground through his teeth as he continued to chew the strip. Jesse chuckled at his stubbornness before compromising.

"At least let me boil it for you…" she rubbed the bridge of her nose. This was going to be one of those days.

* * *

Shouta Aizawa thought he was a patient person. He had waited hours and days to ambush criminals on more than a few occasions. He had held off on an attack for backup from other heroes often. He had also dealt with the press trying to get information on him after he became a teacher for more than what most could claim.

One could only be patient with a hyperactive friend for so long, however.

"Come on! Shouta, there's more in this world than stacks of papers, and they only need to be submitted three days before the start of the second semester! Live, drink, find a girlfriend, join me on my radio show, SOMETHING!" managing not to wince at his companion's sudden volume, Shouta gave Hizashi a dead look as the voice hero smiled sheepishly.

"No." he said plainly. "I will not procrastinate to get drunk or laid, and we've both agreed since the sports festival that I'm 'about as interesting to listen to as a flat vinyl record'. Your words, I recall." the blonde wasn't having it though and grabbed his friend by both of his shoulders.

"You don't even have all of the parent's responses to if their kids are boarding!" he argued. "There's still the Midoriya family at the least."

"On a trip overseas with Anima, according to Toshinori. They're coming back a week before the break ends, so I'll get the verdict then." Shouta told his friend. There was a whining sound from the hyper blonde.

"At least do it consistently instead of all at once. It'd be more practical, and you'd be better focused to make sure you don't screw up the paperwork." Hizashi played to Shouta's logic, and it seemed to work.

"Fine, I'll put the work down for today, but you aren't convincing me a second time." Shouta accepted.

"AAWW YYHHEEAAHH!" Shouta sighed at his loud companion's shriek while watching the window crack from the volume.

This may have been a mistake.

* * *

"I'm happy to say that the cells you donated are now on their way to making you a replacement lung and stomach, Yagi-san. They should be fully developed by seven months if everything goes right." the doctor told the former hero. Toshinori sighed in relief at the news. Ever since he heard of the medical technology to take any cell type and grow entire organs, he wanted to have replacements for his own, or even donate, but with One for All in his possession, he couldn't risk the quirk mistaking the willing donation as him choosing a successor. Now that it was gone for good, he didn't have that worry.

"Thank you for this, doctor Kurosaki." the gaunt man said with a genuine smile. He had been smiling like that a lot more recently, and he couldn't help but think it was his successors doing. Izuku, with his warm nature, was able to peel away all of the barriers that would show him anything less than the symbol of peace he used as a mask, and he couldn't be mad at the fact.

"Please, it's my job to help people keep healthy. I just don't know why it would wait so long to accept the treatment." Doctor Kurosaki sighed.

"There were… problems, that needed to be dealt with at the time." Toshinori scratched his head in embarrassment. As the visit was coming to a close, Toshinori saw the news in the lobby.

"The hero killer Stain, thought to be incarcerated, has escaped as there have been several murders and assaults over the past week with the villain's calling card." the retired hero's head couldn't spin any faster without harm as he started listening. "The villain Akaguro Chizome, also known publicly as Stain, escaped during the night, crippling several guards in his break-out. The heroine Scorch and hero Static have unfortunately been killed by the villain's crusade, and Hound Dog has lost his right leg as well, ending his career." Toshinori's blood was boiling at the fact his fellow hero and staff at UA had been attacked.

"That may not be the case though, as the hero Ingenium has found a way back into the hero scene after his own attack." the co-reporter noted as an image of the Iida was shown on screen. The turbo hero was in his wheelchair as he was offering assistance to an evacuation.

"You're right." Daikaku noted. "The pro hero Ingenium, after his injuries from the hero killer, has made a remarkable recovery and is now back as a small-time hero helping in rescue operations." the former symbol of peace couldn't help but smile at his student's brother. The young man was so hurt that he couldn't continue the family business, but it seems he found his own way to help people.

As Toshinori walked out of the hospital, he wondered how Stain had escaped in the first place.

* * *

"What do you mean you wanna leave?" Tomura asked Shuichi. It was sudden, but the scaled man didn't hesitate.

"I want to leave the league. With Stain now out again, I'm going to join him on his purge. That doesn't mean that I'm turning on you, but I'm no longer a member of your group." Shuichi explained.

"Spin-chan! At least come hang with us after your murders! I wanna hear how it's like to fight along Stain!" Himiko called as she draped herself over the couch as usual.

"That's right dear, any time you feel, come and spend some time with us. We're still friends, and that'll never change." Kenji smiled. The other league members were also giving regards.

"Dude, if workin' with the hero killer doesn't pan out, we'll still be here!" Jin gave the lizard man a thumbs up and pat on the back.

"Thanks, everyone. I'll keep in touch and tell you how he's like up close." Suichi smiled at their acceptance, no longer afraid it looked like a betrayal.

"Please do." Tomura noted with grace. "Even if we walk different paths, we all still consider you part of this family. Don't hesitate to come back." Tomura couldn't force Shuichi without having everyone leaving, but he could at least be an unwitting spy telling them Stains location. He still was able to convince the others to stay behind by their ties, so it wasn't a catastrophic loss. It was still irritating he still couldn't contact Archibald, but he knew the mage had just cut his losses with them and would reappear when they get the resources he would want to trade for.

"Thanks boss." the bladesman bowed. "And remember toots, this Friday I'm taking you out to the Spira Art Museum." Kenji blushed lightly about the planned first date. As Shuichi walked out of the warehouse, the League of Villains was short by a member.

* * *

Archibald watched the pieces he had, the puppets and pawns he turned to his side, and looked at what he could do to retrieve more resources for his mystic research. He still had people who owned stores that would give him specialty woods, metals, and jewels as well as people who could craft them expertly into what he needed. His stocks and accounts still kept his research funded, but it would be difficult to not have corpses to run experiments on.

'Maybe the widow at the morgue would be a new pawn for the collection.' he pondered. As much as he would like, without a backer with significant power, the mage's mobility was hampered by his enemies.

That just left him with nothing but time, and what was a few more years compared to immortality?

* * *

That's it for this chapter everyone! Now as I look back I realize that I've written a lot, more than I thought in fact. Because of this, I think I may need to go on hiatus before I burn out and make something sub-par. How long shall this leave of absence be? I honestly don't know. But I can confirm that when I start again, there will be a few chapters already made for you all to enjoy. If you liked this smaller chapter, or think I could improve in some areas, please let me know in the comments. I've still kept up with every response you all have given me up to this point (now at 76). Till next time!


	33. Travel: Heroes

Izuku had no words. His reserves had grown faster over the past two days than a month back home, and now he, his mother and Anima were leaving the mountain city at dawn. Li had come to see them off, though he was only one.

"I hope you have found what you came here for." the head of the Xuan clan said tersely. Izuku could tell there was still some tension in the air, but his teacher either didn't notice or more likely didn't care.

"We have come as far as we could." the werewolf said with a grin. As the trio left down the mountain, Anima picked up Inko.

"Gotta make up lost time!" the monster shouted before sprinting down the mountain almost as fast as they would fall. Izuku channeled his chi and quirk and started to run as well. After a while, he realized not only how much faster he was, but also how much easier he was reinforcing himself with his powers. Instead of worrying about control, the hero-in-training was just feeling the rushing winds as he kept up with his sensei.

"Ain't it awesome?" Anima asked as he was in a freefall. "The speed, the rush, the danger, the risk! This is how you live!" the werewolf laughed. Izuku couldn't help but start smiling at the infectious joy. The green-haired teen definitely understood why people could get excited by extreme sports. Before they knew it, they had fallen below the snow line and were approaching the hotel they stored their things.

"Touchdown!" Anima jokingly shouted, Izuku landing right after.

"I-I don't want to do that again…" Inko stuttered in shock and slight fear. She knew Anima would never drop her, but the instinctual part of her brain told her how far she fell in such a short time. Anima patted her on the shoulder.

"Don't worry, if you do it often enough, it either becomes fun or dull. Let's get our things." turning to the hotel room, Anima heard the woman whisper to herself.

"I don't think my heart could take another trip." the three packed their things, though little they had, and left for the airport. Izuku noticed that he hadn't seen the sun, so he asked.

"Huh? Oh, we lost elevation so fast, the sun hadn't come over the horizon down here. It'll come up before the plane leaves." the oldest calmly explained as if it was just a normal occurrence.

'Then again, he's been that fast for centuries, he may be used to it by now.' the teen thought. The plane they boarded was going to Turkey, where they would board another plane for Rome. they'd spend the rest of the day there before sleeping on a train to London at night. Then they would take a flight home. Izuku and Inko wondered how Anima managed to make all of their travel stops seamlessly flow into the next with little to no planning. They're seeing him buy the tickets at the desk before boarding.

"It's a neat trick, and one I learned from a guy that rode the universe like a taxi. Wasn't as good as the chain-smoker though; he could make time and space itself line up just right to get him where he needed to be, when he needed. I still have to grease palms with resources." Anima explained, leaving details vague. Izuku knew he'd get the story later, but his teacher needed to not freak in the plane seat.

* * *

Izuku noticed it was around five in the evening by the time they reached Rome. the ancient city walls stood as a testament to the craftsmanship of the workers' thousands of years ago; aged, battered, but still standing. Wandering through the city as Anima gave his version of a history tour, filled with stories of warriors and heroes, politics and religion, and how the city itself was made, attacked, and remade again. While the werewolf wasn't one for embellishing, the emotion, the passion in his teacher's voice as he animatedly told the history of the empire that first used the word "hero".

"I never knew you were a fan of history." Inko admitted, after hearing the summary of Ajax and Hector.

"Yeah, I didn't either, but a friend of mine managed to make it more interesting. Ever since I've liked looking at stories of warriors and war. It tells a lot about what that society valued." Anima admitted.

"What was he like?" Izuku questioned. The martial artist shook his head.

"Actually, it was a woman. Pandora was a teacher from Greece; ah right, it's not a country anymore, but regardless. She was smart, skilled, and strong as hell. When we first spared, she pinned me to the point I had to dislocate my shoulder to get out of her hold." there was a self-deprecating laugh before he continued. "She's currently teaching a student back home. Hope she's doing well." the trio talked more and more about old heroes. After some time, Anima started leading them a specific way. Soon, they were standing in front of the Vatican.

"It's the reason I wanted to come here." he told them in a somber voice. Leading the Midoriyas down the corridors, Anima passed through the entrance of a room for a certain saint. Izuku, reading the plaque by the door, remembered the person from his trip to the hero museum.

Saint Ecanus, Starhealer, Saint of heroes, Symbol of Peace.

The room itself, while large, wasn't ornately decorated. The stone was polished, but there weren't many fancy paintings like the main hall. There was a simple violet carpet that, while cushioning, wasn't laced with silk or gold like other carpets he'd seen in the living quarters for the pope and his retainers. The couches were nice, but not anything noteworthy, and the chandelier wasn't adorned with anything other than warm-tinted glass. Even the soft music, while nice and calming, wasn't anything to write home about.

It was comfortable and peaceful, but not what one would think of for immortalizing a saint.

"Come here, Izuku." Anima spoke softly, as if in a graveyard. "Let me show you the history of an old friend." the teen in question then realized why his teacher brought him. Ecanus, Starhealer, was a hero that had long since passed. Not only that, he was an Outlier. Anima wasn't crying, but knowing the werewolf, he was silently paying respect. Looking at the statue in the glass case, he saw the old outfit the pacifist hero wore. It was white, a hard color to keep in such a messy job. In the collar, there was a dark brown stain that ran down. Everyone in the room knew it was a massive bloodstain, probably what killed him. In the statue's left ring finger was a familiar symbol; a white cross on a violet background. It was the same one that was on the left chain on Anima's belt. Seeing his student's gaze, he answered the unspoken question.

"They have a replica. The ring he wore is on my chain." Izuku nodded at the simple answer, leaving a minor mystery unsolved. Looking around to his belongings, he noticed an old picture, creases showing where it was folded to fit in a pocket or wallet. In it was a group.

The largest was a man in a simple t-shirt and jeans with a leather belt. His long hair and winning smile reminded Izuku of a bear. Leaning against his left was a lankier man with his eyes focused on the tome in his hands, paying no attention to the camera. On his right Anima was holding a young woman in the picture, and telling by the frost coating his arm and her glare, she was not there willingly. In front of the taller ones was a child in a wheelchair, looking rather skittish. The only reason he stayed seemed to be the teen with golden-silver hair and violet eyes sporting the purest white wings. The smile on his face, while he held the wheelchair-bound child, was relaxed, as if his whole identity was in a single phrase.

 _Don't worry, I'm right here._

Izuku knew at that moment the teen with wings was Ecanus, making the room they were in make much more sense; there weren't any fancy decorations, or bright colors, of pricey things because they weren't welcoming enough. The soft chairs and simple carpet were what most people found nice to relax on, and the soft music made the atmosphere even more calming. Then Anima spoke.

"He was a miracle of a kid. Without ever relying on violence, armed only with the power to protect, nurture and heal, he was a symbol of peace. We use to joke, calling him the "weeping angel" because he was such a bleeding heart." there was a nostalgic air around the werewolf as he talked about his former teammate.

"He was a master of words and he had that air, kinda like yours, where his mere presence told everyone 'don't worry, I'm here to help.' you would have gotten along like a house on fire…" Izuku read the plaques and listened to his teacher tell him the story of the pacifist hero. Soon, the guards came and told them they had to leave. Taking that as their queue, the three left with a new appreciation of what a "hero" really was. As they left for the train, Anima took a detour, leading to the outside of the city, and led his companions to an overlook to a forest. The setting sun gave the trees an ethereal appearance.

"It's so pretty." Inko exclaimed. Her son couldn't help but nod in agreement.

"It is, and Ecanus made it." Anima admitted, earning looks. "His last miracle: a forest to protect the innocent. He stopped a private army from coming into the city, but this was his deathbed. It used to be a plain, but he used everything to stop the advancement of that force. This was the result." the sun had set fully as the werewolf explained the history of the sacred forest. At this point, they went straight to the train station and booked a small cabin. They would be in London in twelve hours.

* * *

Izuku woke up from someone shaking him roughly and automatically tried for an arm-lock. After a moment, he realized who it was.

"Good reflexes Izuku." Anima stated without concern. "London is a half hour away, get ready." the teen nodded as he went through a kata to start the day and wake up. After getting some clothes and taking a shower, Izuku decided to spend some time meditating with his teacher while Inko used the shower herself. By the time everyone was ready the train had stopped at King's Cross. Anima led the way as Izuku took in the surroundings, noticing they were on platform nine. Walking to the bus system, Izuku noticed something odd.

"Sensei, what's the black stuff on the buildings?" he asked. Anima turned his head to see the black plastic walls that some of the buildings were made from.

"It's a high-density plastic that's easy to replace. You'll see government buildings across Europe and the US made of the stuff. think of them like giant, sturdy Legos. Easy to make, set up, and recycle."

"Ah, I see." Izuku noted before going into a mumble. "Many recyclable polymers are bullet resistant and depending on the structural makeup, easy to replace if damaged. Government buildings like banks and political meetings are often targets for terrorists and villains of social agendas. Making it so the buildings are likely to still stand and relatively quick to repair means that businesses are less likely to be poorly affected. It could also-"

"We're here." Anima cut his student's mumbling as he and several people got off the double-decker. Izuku picked up his bag and stepped onto the brick sidewalk. Izuku saw a park with a massive memorial column in the center of the path. Before he could ask, Inko decided to point a fact out.

"As much as I'm alright with taking another walk, let's get some lunch before we continue. It's almost eleven-thirty right now." Anima stopped mid-stride before checking his phone.

"Crap, thank you for catching that Inko." the werewolf agreed. Taking a turn, they found themselves in a nice bakery-cafe. After ordering, talking, eating, and more talking, the time slipped by until it was just past noon. Everyone recharged and satisfied, they went back to the park.

"Woah…" Izuku exclaimed. The monolith was a memorial to heroes, taller than him and more numerous than he could count. Simple plates hung under masks and capes, noting a hero and sometimes their legal name. On the floor was a message; "many shall flee from danger to protect themselves, but hark and heed those who run towards and protect others. Heroes need nothing but courage and will to be a shield and light for those in need." Caleb Hyles, "Captain Britain VII"

"This is the Hero's Monument" Anima explained. "Before the International Hero Assistance Act, the thing that made it so heroism was an actual career, there were still other heroes doing it technically as an illegal hobby." Inko had to suppress a shudder at remembering the stories Anima had told them of taking bullets and realized that he had to have a job to support that as well. The centuries-old monster gestured his hand back to the monument.

"These are the ones that died before the bill, from age, bullet, or collapsing structures. The names under the cape plaques had some power or high tech; Power man, Dr strange, Hawkgirl, and so on. "

"The ones under the mask plaques didn't have even that; Captain Metropolis, Thanatos, Phoenix Jones… for every one super, there were dozens of the smaller heroes. The media didn't even care to call them heroes. I remember the rant Limbaugh made. 'They aren't super heroes, they're _super zeroes_. They have zero sense, zero brains, and zero chance of survival.' the bastard said." Izuku was appalled at the disregard in the phrasing for people wanting to do good. There was an ironic chuckle from Anima as he continued.

"They decided to take that title though. Men and women that made the world a better place, even if only a little. I have great respect for the zeroes that tried their damnedest to give the world just one more light."

"'All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle.' Francis of Assisi." Izuku quoted.

"Damn straight, just make sure you don't let your beacon dim Kid." was his teacher's response. The youngest nodded.

"I won't. People need help every day, and I won't let myself sit back when I can help someone in my grasp." there was no hesitation in his voice. The path of the protector, the hero's will, a hero's distortion, all of it meant one thing to the Martial artist; It's never wrong to help someone, even if you would sacrifice yourself.

Inko looked at her son and saw a fire that she doubted centuries could dim. She knew what projecting chi did, but it never ceased to amaze her that the overwhelming comfort her son shrouded the area in was what his _soul_ was in its simplest form. She was brought out her thoughts when Anima's head swiveled to a man that laid a bouquet of flowers at the monument.

"S'cuse me." the man spoke softly. Anima trailed him with his nose before shouting.

"Oi, Oi Jack!" the now named man stopped and turned to face the werewolf before nodding and continuing to wander away.

"Dammit, Jack." Anima growled before turning to Inko and Izuku. "I'll meet you later; right now I'm going to try and knock some sense in an old friend." The Midoriyas nodded before the old hero chased after the man in the trench coat, leaving them to wonder what the history between them was. Izuku went to his notebook to memorize the heroes that died before the term quirks came about.

* * *

Anima managed to catch his old friend at the cemetery, putting down another bundle of Hydrangeas at the foot of a grave that read: 'Emma Jane Fraiser, mother, grandmother, Outlier' in heavily faded stone. The werewolf waited a moment before walking to the Immortal's right.

"You know the 1940's went out of style in the 1960's, right Jack?" He teased. Jack glanced to his side before turning back to the grave.

"Long time no see Lupo." he commented in melancholy.

"It's Anima, it has been for the past two-hundred and forty years." the martial artist noted with annoyance.

"It's still Lupo on my phone. Man, how long has it been since we last talked?" the bureau-worker questioned.

"Change it then, and fifty years since we last talked, eighty in person. Not since Sentry died in Quebec." the mood turned a little heavier at the memory.

"Yeah, I know." Jack noted. "So what brings you to the old Smoke? Hopefully not the tea."

"I took a student recently, and I'm showing him the monument here; he saw Starhealer's exhibit in Rome yesterday. The Kid's name is Izuku."

"Ah, Deku. Tell him he did good on Stain and One for All." the immortal praised. Anima turned his head in question.

"How did… you know what, I'm not putting it past your team to keep tabs on that kind of shit."

"How's his arm anyway? It looked like your old-" Jack was cut off.

"Thanks to Ordana, Fine." Anima forced.

"She still pissed at you?" he asked.

"And I at her you know how it is."

"Good, that's good."Jack smiled as he turned to Emma's stone. The immortal gave a bow with a small prayer before turning away and starting to walk off. Anima saw the look on his old friend's face before sighing.

"Jack, why do you keep doing this to yourself? It's been _centuries_. Her stone is almost unreadable due to weathering."

"I can never forget. She was my best friend, they all were." Anima saw the weight of history on his companion's shoulders. He hated this.

"You're living in the past. You still mourn for Alice, and she died before the world wars." Anima countered.

"I'm not letting them fade." Jack noted with a slight edge in his voice.

"I'm not saying you should. I'm saying to let go. They've passed on, but we're still here. I still remember them just as much as you do, but I let their past leave a trail for the living and unborn; you put them above those around you." Anima argued.

"I mourn to remember what I am. The glitch, the mistake, the fixed point in time. All thanks to one madman. I mourn them on the day of their death; today Emma died, tomorrow Wally and the day after that Adam, until there are no more deaths to mourn. I live to remember what happened." Anima hated this. Ever since the first outliers died, Jack and he would argue about how to respect the dead.

Anima saw to make sure the next generation would know the falls to avoid, while Jack saw someone who should be remembered. Every time they met this argument would come up and neither wanted to bend. It hurt Anima to see someone beat themselves up almost every day for centuries.

Jack was twice as old as Anima was, and he hadn't changed a day.

Suddenly Jack's phone went off. Picking it up, Lupo could hear the conversation from both sides, but something caught his attention. Waiting until the call ended, he called the retired hero out.

"You brought the Nomu Here?! The fuck are you thinking!?" Jack turned to his friend before answering.

"We have better research facilities and inhibitors. Due to their vegetative state, we can call them effectively brain dead and use them for research purposes." Anima was seething at the callous response but managed not to brain the former hero against a random tombstone.

"Jack, you're treading a fine line here, both ethically and politically. _Don't_ turn into a mad scientist." the werewolf warned before walking off.

"What hotel are you staying at?" Jack called and Anima answered. The two Outliers left to get back to their lives once again.

* * *

The next day, everyone was waking up to get on the plane back to Japan. Anima Opened the door to leave only to find a laptop-sized box at the foot of the door. Picking it up, he saw the letter attached to it and read it to himself:

 _Lupo,_

 _I'm sorry About the bad taste, but I still consider you my friend. Deku needs to know about them, about us. Please don't let the Outliers die out; I know you won't. Don't be a stranger and call if you need anything, regardless of danger, The Captain is always ready to help._

 _-Jack_

"What is it?" Izuku peered under his teacher's arm. Anima gave the box a small shake to here a binder shift inside.

"Just some notes you may find useful." He commented. "Come on, we're going to miss our plane if we aren't careful. I'm ready to cuddle back with Jesse again." the Midoriyas chuckled at the werewolf's complaints before going to the airport.

With first class seats and a straight flight, they'd get back home tonight.

* * *

Alright, this was a hard chapter to write. Anyway, the travel arc is pretty much done! I'm sorry for taking so long but I realized how burnt out I was by the third week of not writing. Even now it's rather hard to write anything of worth. I hope the chapter lived up to your expectations. If it did, or if I could do better, I'd love to hear a reply. Till next time!


	34. Home

As Inko, Izuku, and Anima stepped out of the airport there was a rush of wind as Jesse tackle-hugged into her husband full-force. Anima swung her around to bleed the kinetic impact as he embraced her with everything he had. Setting his lover down, Anima looked her in the eyes before stealing her lips in a searing passion.

"You think he left for a year by that greeting…" Izuku heard his homeroom teacher comment with his trademark monotone. Looking past the cuddling werewolves, he saw Shouta and Toshinori standing to greet them.

"Seems whoever you went to healed your arm well." the former hero said, looking at Izuku's working appendage. By this point, Anima pried himself of his wife with a promise for continuing later that night.

"Yeah, I took them to someone in Russia that could forcefully manipulate organic tissue. She healed the nerve damage and most of the skeletal and muscular problems." the werewolf answered.

"I'd imagine a hero that could heal injuries that well would be well known." Shouta noted but was surprised that the travelers shook their heads.

"She wasn't a hero; she was a hermit that wouldn't help unless bribed." Inko told the night hero. Shouta looked at Anima who shrugged.

"I may not like her personally, but she's one of the best healers alive I know." The homeroom teacher could appreciate the lengths his co-worker would go for his disciple, even if he was cautious about letting someone not medically trained tend to the teen. Toshinori butted into the conversations to steer it another direction.

"But while we're glad you came back safe, we, unfortunately, have some things to sort out about young Midoriya's stay at UA."

"Wait, what?" Izuku all but shouted. "But I'm not handicapped, my arm is fine now, my grades are fine, my-" a spike of aura shut the teen up as everyone turned to Anima, still clinging to his wife.

"Let them finish before you start panicking!" the werewolf growled. After he got his point across, Jesse started to pull him away. Realizing what she was doing, Anima chuckled.

"See you tomorrow at the earliest." he commented before walking to the motorcycle his wife came to the airport on. Riding off at law-breaking speeds, the rest of the teachers chuckled at their coworkers' antics.

"What I wanted to talk about was the fact UA is going to turn into a boarding school this semester. We need your guardian's, in this case your mother's, permission and signature to let you continue attending." Shouta explained.

"Where's the paper?" Inko asked without hesitation. She would normally be more worried about her son's safety, but knowing the Cacciatore's and staff that would be there, her concerns were small compared to Izuku's dream. The teacher held out a clipboard and small stack of forms for the mother. Inko found a bench to sit on and read the papers before signing them off.

"Thank you for your understanding." the night hero sounded almost like a machine from how scripted his words sounded.

"C'mon bud, let's get these filed and get you to bed. You look like you need it." Hizashi patted his friend on the back as he bowed to the Midoriyas.

"I'll drive you two home while you fill me in on what happened on the trip." Toshinori offered. Both Inko and Izuku were feeling the strain of the trip, so gratefully accepted.

Izuku contacted his friends to tell them he was back and that he'd meet them tomorrow. Right now he needed sleep.

* * *

The next day, Izuku met up with his friends in class at the cafe near the school. Thankfully it was a slow day, so the teens could group their tables into a massive row. Izuku had Tenya on his left side as Ochaco was on his right.

"So where'd Anima-sensei take you?" Ochaco asked.

"We went to Russia to meet an acquaintance of Anima's, who managed to heal the damage my stunt at the raid did to me before going to the Wudang temple in China-" at this point, Mashirao cut in.

"Wait, you went there? Oh man, I'm jealous!" everyone at the table looked over at the tailed teen.

"What's so special about it?" Momo asked curiously.

"It's said to be the birthplace of kung fu" Izuku explained. "And I met Han Tūng, the current master of the temple. He helped me with the martial path I'm taking."

"Incredible." Tenya noted. "I wonder what the practices over there must be like." Izuku gave his friend a basic rundown of the principle of many kung fu styles.

"After we left there, Anima took me to another Temple in the Kunlun mountains. There I met Xuan Li, one of the masters there. I learned more about the spiritual aspect of martial arts there, and then left China to Rome."

"Oh, oh, oh! Did you see the Coliseum?" Kirishima asked. He deflated at Izuku's negative, but continued to listen.

"No, but I did get to see the Vatican and sacred forest." he noted. "You guys remember the trip to the hero museum a couple weeks back? Starhealer, the saint of heroes, has his own room in the main building. Reading the notes on him, he was a symbol of peace without ever resorting to violence; he was a complete pacifist."

"That's incredible" Koji noted, and everyone saw the admiration; for someone so soft-spoken, a pacifist hero must be role-model material.

"He was." Izuku agreed. "The final stop was to London to see the pre-quirk monument."

"The what?" Ochaco asked before Yuga answered.

"Before the Hero Assistance Act, heroism was technically vigilantism as well. The Monument has the names of the fabulous heroes that died before the career." seeing everyone's eyes on him, the flamboyant teen posed a smile.

"La Pére took me when he was doing a modèle for a designer a few years back."

"That's so cool, Aoyama-chan!" Mina praised.

Izuku was smiling. He loved martial arts, and hero training, but the small moments like these were happy reminders of why he was doing the above. Laughing with his classmates over stories, talking about current trends and new heroes, seeing how many wings Kirishima could stuff in his mouth at once, it was satisfying to sit and relax with his classmates. He wouldn't trade these for much.

"Oh, what about the new changes to school? You know, the dorms and such. Did everyone's parents sign them?" Ochaco asked, setting the mood in another direction.

* * *

The students were moved into the dorm rooms a day before summer break ended, making sure everyone had time to set things in their rooms and learn the building layout. Some were ecstatic about the room sizes while others saw it as a minor downgrade, but no one saw a need to complain. After everyone had unpacked, it was just turning to night.

"So, we were talking about it…" Mina started after everyone was gathered.

'Never good words to hear' Izuku thought, but let the acid-user finish her thought.

"Let's have a room showcasing competition!" she suggested. Izuku had a suspicion that with everyone's backgrounds, few would be normal.

Deciding to go to Izuku's room first, it was eclectic in many ways. There were hero posters (mainly All Might, but some others as well) lining the walls, with books in a tall shelf ranging from textbooks to stories to even a couple mystic tomes, many in other languages. The desk against the wall could fold down, leaving more space, with a small stack of notebooks labeled "quirk analysis" and labeled from one to fifteen. In the corner was a wooden dummy, and some weights on a steel shelf. His bed was above where his desk was, like a top bunk with bars to prevent him from rolling off it, leaving quite a bit of space to move. There was a small bean bag next to the books, but easy to move. On another wall was a small hanging flat screen above a bokken.

"Wow, with everything up against the walls, it's spacious." Ochaco noted.

"Well yeah, practicing katas takes some space, so my room practically folds on itself." Izuku answered, scratching his head. Walking in, Fumikage saw a book, and pulled it off the shelf.

"From the clan at Matsue castle? I'm impressed." Izuku took a glance at the book his friend pulled, and saw that he recognized the mystic group's signature emblem.

"Yeah, the moonlit group there knew Anima-sensei, and he helped me get the book." he said, phrasing it so no one but those already in the supernatural wouldn't catch on; the shadow-user did.

"Man, this room is built for martial arts, ain't it man." Eijirou noted before the group moved on to Fumikage's room. After some nudging, and a good shove out of the way, the teens opened the door.

The room was dark, not surprising for the person using it as living space. There was a shelf, mainly filled with mystic pages, that was next to an ebony dresser. Some keychains stood on a stand while a skull ornament sat next to it. A decorated chair was in the corner next to a table with markings over it. Izuku noted the mystic feel of a couple items and figured it out.

"Holy hell it's dark, and scary too!" Toru exclaimed, walking in. Eijirou followed, recognizing one of the keychains as the same kind he got in middle school.

" _Get The Hell Out!_ " the raven-faced teen snapped. Izuku connecting the dots stepped in.

"Come on guys; he seems to like his privacy, and we're being rude." he placated, guiding them out. Fumikage saw the gesture for what it was and he nodded at Izuku in thanks. Izuku smiled in understanding.

A magic user's workshop was sometimes more valuable than their lives, after all.

Like that, the boys' rooms were explored and eventually, Mineta told them that, in the act of fairness, the girls should show their rooms as well.

The girl's rooms were all cute in one way or another (Toru had a stuffed animal collection, Tsuyu had a rainforest-style room, Ochaco had some nice plants, and so on), and after getting to everyone sans Katsuki's room, everyone voted for the best room.

"Drumroll please! The winner, with seven votes goes to… Tsuyu-chan! Most comments going to that lily-pad pillow you had!" more talks went on before everyone decided to call it a night.

* * *

Class started like normal, with everyone talking until Shouta walked in.

"Your first objective this semester will be trying for your provisional hero licenses." the night hero stated, earning a "yes sir" from every student. Continuing the lecture, Shouta explained the details.

"A hero license grants you permission to directly intervene when people's lives are at stake, without using loopholes." he gave a glance at Izuku, Tenya, and Shoto, referring to the Stain incident. The trio looked down in embarrassment.

"Due to the high responsibility, the exam is extremely strict. Despite only being a 'provisional' license, the rate of acceptance is only five percent. So to help you keep up, the other staff and I will help you come up with your own signature moves." at this phrase, Midnight, Ectoplasm, and Cementoss walked in.

"Hell yeah! Now it's time for hero stuff!" most of the class shouted in joy, save for a couple.

"Welp, this is gonna _suck…_ " Izuku noted.

* * *

This wasn't as hard as I thought it was gonna be when I started, but that's fine. Now everyone's back to school, and the license exam is coming up! Some things may change, but most won't until an arc later. I'm happy to read the new comments, so keep them up! Till next time!


	35. Trying new Things

In the Training Dreamland, everyone was trying to make their own "special moves". Mina was trying to improve her acid spray, and messing with the ph for something that would melt one thing, but not another. Denki was trying to change his electric output by differing volts and amps, but he needed a break after a while. Mineta was practicing traps with Sero who was focusing on mobility.

"Focus on me." the Ectoplasm clone warned Izuku, who was looking at his classmate's efforts. The martial artist turned to his opponent before his mental trigger went through his mind.

' _ **Save them'**_

With a single phrase, Izuku transformed from an earnest teen to a smiling protector. The clone's eyes widened at the sudden change before Deku charged at it like a bullet. Ectoplasm dodged the hero's kick, but wasn't prepared for the wind pressure that extended the martial artist's effective range.

Izuku noted the knockback distance before closing the distance. The clone tried to get a kick in, but Deku refused to give him the needed space, focusing on forearm strikes while invading his opponent's space as much as he could. The copy stepped on the teen's foot, only to slide as Deku dropped into a three-point stance. The smaller surface area of its pegleg failed to find purchase, leaving the hero-in-training the perfect chance to switch to Sambo and secure his opponent to the ground. After failing to leverage itself up, the clone tapped the teen in the universal message of 'I give'.

"Impressive use of your speed to extend the range of your kick and your takedown was very smooth; I didn't have much chance to recover. I take it you want to focus on the martial arts rather than called attacks?" the clone questioned as it was given the chance to rise.

"Yeah." Deku admitted. "My style is about quickly changing my rhythm mid-fight, so calling attacks do me little good. One thing I want to practice though is facing multiple opponents; one on one is good for practice, but I'm screwed if I don't know how to deal with a group." The Ectoplasm clone nodded before calling to the real one.

"Hey, the kid wants to try group fighting, so send four more over!" the overseeing hero looked over before vomiting up a few more clones and sending the requested number over and one over to Katsuki, who demolished his.

* * *

Izuku hurt all over and was dead tired. Unlike the match with the single clone, Izuku had his rear on a platter when more than two clones came at him at once. He supposed it made sense; all of his spars and fights so far have been one on one, or he was on a team fighting a single person. This was the first time he fought against a group on his own. Using his chi, Izuku checked his body over. Noting the strain on his joints, he decided that seeing the support department was a smart idea.

"Hey guys, I'm going to see the support department to see if they could alter my suit. You wanna come with?" he asked his friends after the class came out of the locker rooms.

"What do you want them to do?" Eijiro asked.

"I've noticed the strain my quirk puts on me, so I'm gonna see if they could reinforce my suit to mitigate the chance of injury." the green-haired teen answered.

"I've also noted the drawbacks of my own quirk, maybe I should see what they could accomplish for me as well." Tenya agreed.

"Yeah, my costume is kinda not doing much. You think there's some kind of armor I could try?" Eijiro thought aloud. With other classmates thinking of things they could see the support department improve or add, most thought it'd be a nice idea to check in for an upgrade.

"Hold on," Momo called out. "If we all go at once, then we'd just swamp the support workshop. Let's go in teams of four, spread over five days so everyone can take their time with specifics." seeing the logic in that, it was soon decided that Izuku, Tenya, Eijiro, and Rikido would be the first group, owing to the fact Izuku suggested it and they were all physical fighters. The guys set off to see the development studio.

* * *

Izuku's instincts warned him before his eyes did, and the teen reinforced himself just as the door to the workshop blew off its hinges in a fireball. Something non-metal impacted the teen, and he caught it while bracing himself. After his hearing came back and the dust cleared, he noted what, or rather who, he caught.

"Hatsume-san!" he called out to the person he was setting down. "Are you okay? Do you need me to take you to Recovery Girl?" he continued to fuss over the girl who was just thrown by an explosion.

"Huh? Oh, aren't you from the festival?" she asked as if the explosion was a normal occurrence. Taking the fact Power Loader was just griping about her recklessness, it apparently was.

"Er, yeah. My friends and I were coming to see about upgrading parts of our suit." at the word 'upgrade, Mei surged into Izuku's personal space. Forcing down the instinctual reaction of attacking what was charging him, the green-haired teen looked at Power Loader. Taking the hint, the teacher pulled his student back.

"Mei, learn to calm down. If you all would come in, the systems should have dealt with the fire." everyone walked in after the supporters, taking the last comment into consideration. The hero looked at Eijiro before asking.

"What do you think of the current costume, and what would you like changed?" Power Loader questioned. The redhead looked to his briefcase before answering.

"It's easy to move in, and lightweight, but I'd noticed how much I focus on tanking hits; some easy to move in armor would be nice. Keeping the muscle aesthetic would be preferred, but if it's not possible for both, then I'd prefer not bleeding out." Eijiro half-joked. the excavating hero liked the kid's response; praising, quick to the point, and reasonable.

"I'll see what I can do. Would a spartan breastplate work? I'd also suggest a target emblem." Eijiro nodded at the armor idea but looked at Izuku when he heard the odd term.

"He means having a sigil put on center mass." the hero-fan explained. "If someone's shooting at you, you want them to hit the part with the most protection, and not a weaker point or bystanders, so you use a sigil that works like a target. 'Target emblem' is just the slang." hearing the explanation, the hardening quirk user agreed. Tenya was the next.

"I'm glad that it's lightweight and aerodynamic, but I was wondering if you could improve the radiator to my legs, and add some extra protection without compromising weight by a large margin." Power Loader liked these kids already for the concise feedback and upgrade parameters. They knew that for one aspect to be focused on, another was sacrificed, And they could prioritize. He looked at the noted he wrote on the student requests and made sure it was well written.

"I'll try to keep it from being more than five kilos heavier, but if it is, I'll call you back. Do you want a target on you as well?" he asked, but the speedster refused. He'd rather not get hit at all if he could help it. When Rikido had his turn, he wasn't as concise.

"I, uh, like the belt storage, but my outfit doesn't do much. Hearing them, I'd also like some added protection, from knives and bullets, but nothing that's gonna restrict my movement. Also, some support to my knuckle area." while Power Loader wasn't as happy about the lack of direction, he had improved far more while working off far less input with professionals. Writing down some basic Ideas, he then turned to the last member of the group. Izuku took a small breath before answering.

"My costume has nothing wrong with it, but I noticed how easy it was for me to overextend in my combat style; I came to see if there was a way to add joint support without sacrificing mobility. I also noted the impacts from my kicks are putting a lot of force on my lower body, so something that would help with recoil without softening the blow to my target would be welcome as well, but I'm fine if it's not possible." Power Loader was very impressed with this student's response. The other kids were concise, but this kid knew more than the surface layer of what the support department could attempt. Before he could write down the response, Mei chimed in.

"Oh, oh! I like this one, can I work with him?" she asked almost bouncing. The teacher was wary of letting her loose on the poor kid, but before he answered, he saw Izuku thinking about it.

"I'm not against letting you try, but if you try and make it like the exoskeleton you had in the festival, then I'm drawing the line. Ah, If Power Loader-san is okay with it." the martial artist added. The excavating hero took a moment to ponder.

"Hatsume is of the few that could do just what you asked, but I can't guarantee she won't go off without you being there, or even with. If you're fine with the risk, I'll let you two work together. But I'll need to see the written forms and product before it leaves the shop. For the rest of you, I'll need to make forms for the design office to approve, all of which should be done in a week at the latest." he answered. Mei was jumping with joy as she dragged Izuku off to the corner for testing.

"Thank you, sir, If there is any way we could help make it easier for you or speed up the process, do let us know." Tenya bowed to the adult.

"Thanks for the offer, but other than coming if called, all this is on us." Power loader smiled. Just before three of the four left, Eijiro gave a heads up.

"Oh yeah, Power Loader! The rest of the class is coming by later to give feedback and ask for tweaks. We're coming in groups of four throughout the week to not swamp ya, so heads up." the redhead called over his shoulder.

"Letting me know, and spreading out so I can prepare for everyone? That's it, Class 1-A is my favorite class to support this year!" the hero announced. Izuku, staying next to Mei as she went from idea to idea, could only think one thing.

'I hope it's worth it.'

He didn't get back to the dorm until well after ten, to which he passed ou on the bed in his clothes.

* * *

A week had passed, and everyone had gotten their new hero outfits. Izuku was getting used to the different feel kicking now had with the coil system; Anima was impressed with the blowback feature, and explained it very well.

" _Say you give a kick with a value of twenty. Normally, physics dictate ten points go to damaging the target while the other ten goes back into your leg. With your gear, however, the blowback helps you by having_ _ **sixteen**_ _points go into the target instead of the normal ten, with only four points being absorbed by your leg. That also lets you hit harder without hurting yourself. The creator is a fucking genius to make that work."_

Everyone else got upgrades as well, though some outfits were changed more than others. Toru and Momo, with Anima's contact, had both managed to make their suits from unstable cloth, going invisible on Toru while letting Momo create massive things without sacrificing her modesty; she also could get rid of the boob window her last costume had, much to her joy.

"Hey Deku," Katsuki called to Izuku, quietly. Turning to meet his old rival, Izuku was a little worried about his drop in volume.

"After class, get wolf grin and meet me at beta; I wanna fight you, and he's gonna be the ref."

* * *

And that's a wrap! 1-A has new costumes and now Bakugo's picking a fight. I was thinking of doing the fight later, but I thought it'd be better now. Thank you all for your comments so far, they really are helpful. As for the comment by TheAlienHeart, I would do some highschool romance, If I knew how. I was the odd kid in the corner more focused on a book than the girls around me, so I have no clue how to do romance at all. If I manage to figure it out, I may try, but as it's not a focus, I'm fine letting it be off screen. Till next time!


	36. Progress

Alright, I know this chapter took longer than normal, but there is a reason. I have recently been on a Bioshock high recently, and to help get it out of my system, I've made a MHA fanfic with Izuku as an ADAM producer as his quirk. If you want to read it, let me know and I'll post it. Anyway, to the story!

* * *

They were in the middle of the track field at seven. The field was flat, with no cover. It was fine though; they didn't want any. Both had their hero suits on, upgraded from their initial designs in different ways.

"Alright, I'll let the two of you go hard, but no lethal force. Bakugo, that means no AP shots. Izuku, be careful; remember you can crush stone, and people are more delicate." Anima warned as he held up a firing blank. Katsuki's stance shifted while Izuku's mental trigger let him change his view. The gun went off, and the students were two bullets.

The blonde opened with a smokescreen, preventing his opponent from seeing his form. Unfortunately, that opponent didn't need to when Katsuki's aura was a beacon to his sixth sense. Ever since the trip to Kunlun, Izuku's chi was far more sensitive to change, letting him compensate for his lack of talent in sensing. A punch came from Izuku, grazing the explosive blonde across his bicep. Katsuki backed up before strafing around and jumping at the martial artist once again.

Only he wasn't there.

Before he could question where his opponent moved to, he felt an ax kick connect to his shoulder. Grunting, he created another explosion to clear the smoke that was obviously not working in his favor. Izuku was standing a fair distance away, not a scratch on him, while Katsuki was sporting two impressive bruises. He charged again, and Izuku threw him, but not before the blonde tagged his calf and skidded on his hand to a stop. Izuku noticed the odd action, but was too late in realization to move. The explosive teen ignited the trail of sweat and singed the martial artist's limb.

Izuku knew that the pain in his leg was for superficial damage, But burns were disproportionate in pain compared to its actual damage, limiting his movement. His stance changed, and Katsuki was thrown off by the different moveset. This wasn't an oriental style; this was _African_!

Izuku's stance was from a secluded country's Lion tribe. It was lower to the ground, making Katsuki have to be careful not to throw himself with his own explosions as he took kicks and palm-strikes from lunges that seemed to have no sequence. The fight changed in Izuku's favor for a while until Katsuki figured the rhythm out. Then he waited until Izuku pounced, and decked him in the face. The greenette lowered his head enough that it connected with his forehead and not his eye. He then switched style again to the country's Spider tribe, focused on grapples. He threw Katsuki to the ground before pinning him. He then saw the blonde smile.

It wasn't his palms that were a high-grade explosive, it was his sweat.

The only warning was a spark, and Izuku disconnected just as Katsuki's back blew him upwards. Izuku shifted in the air to roll with his landing, just as his opponent sped towards him, throwing explosive blasts, kick, and punches in an almost non-stop flurry. The martial artist focused on deflecting and dodging, waiting for the chance. All weapons -even the body- needs a moment of downtime to prepare the next onslaught.

Katsuki slipped on the ground from his gauntlets pulling his weight too off balance.

Izuku didn't hesitate and solidified his stance before stepping in. Katsuki blew up his left hand, changing his rotation in the opposite direction, though it was dodged. Izuku landed a kick to Katsuki's rib, making an audible crack, and making it hard for the blonde to breathe.

Off to the side, Anima paid close attention to both individuals, making notes about their differences and looking out for a reason to stop them. The werewolf noticed that while Izuku had rigid technique, bakugo's instincts were helping him connect every strike in a fluid form. He saw that every time the two engaged, Izuku's hits were in debilitating areas while Katsuki's were where he could easily nail his opponent. Unfortunately, those were where it wasn't as important, such as his abdomen and forearms, that could take the impact with little effect on the chi user's fighting ability.

While Katsuki was dangerous with his instinct, against someone physically stronger, tougher, and faster with more precise strikes, the blonde was going to lose.

After thirteen minutes of impacts, waiting periods, and dodging, Katsuki was thrown one last time, fracturing his arm and dislocating his collarbone. Izuku was covered in burns, bruises, and even sporting a cracked shin, but his opponent wasn't able to fight anymore.

"Izuku wins." Anima announced before picking the explosive blonde up and walking to Recovery Girl, Izuku limping beside. Katsuki looked over at his rival, and grinned.

"Fuck. I gotta learn how to fucking keep you down; I smacked your ass around more times that you hit me, but I'm the one that feels like shit…" the explosive teen moaned.

"Placement counts more than force, and I have both." the martial artist pointed out. While the victor was clear, neither felt it was a cheap win.

* * *

"I can't believe you agreed to let them fight to this point!" the school nurse said infuriated. "I swear. Just because I can heal the students doesn't mean you should just let them beat on each other!"

"I'm not saying heal them 100%. Just enough they can continue their schoolwork." the werewolf said. He knew she'd help them, but leaving them covered in bruises would let them know how dumb the fight was. "And if I didn't agree to the fight, they'd do it without supervision. I'd rather be able to stay close and prevent crippling injury or death."

Recovery Girl wanted to ask him what"crippling injuries" counted to him, but remembered he had most of his flesh blown off in the finals and was still in the fight. Sighing in resignation, she used her quirk on the boys, healing the worst injuries, but leaving the bruises and cuts to not drain them of all of their stamina; the license exam was in a week, and they'd be healed by then.

"Thank you." Anima bowed. He then picked Katsuki up in a fireman's carry and left to take him to his room. The elderly hero then turned to Izuku. The green-haired martial artist was lying in the bed.

"From what I heard, your friend was the one to issue the challenge. Would you mind telling me why you accepted?" Izuku closed his eyes and thought for a moment.

"I wanted to see who was stronger." he said succinctly. There was a pause as if the nurse was expecting more. When she didn't get anything else, she sighed.

"And with a broken bone, and several bruises as your reward, was it worth it?" Recovery Girl questioned.

"Yes." there was no pause in his answer. Sitting up, Izuku tried to explain it best he could. "I've always had Kacchan in my life, as a sort of bar to reach. He was confident, strong, driven, everything I admired. After training with Anima-sensei, I never really lost that idea. Even though we were challenging each other for years, he and I never actually had an all-out fight to see what was better; instinct and brute force, or training and control. I guess we just wanted an end to the argument."

The elderly nurse looked at her charge, and the small fire in his eyes. She knew nothing else she could say would change his mind, and from his words, the matter was settled. Taking a breath, she decided there was nothing else to say.

"Alright, but don't let this happen again." she told Izuku, who nodded. "Now go on back to the dorm rooms. And I don't want you going out tonight."

As Izuku left, Chiyo went back to her work. She knew that boys would be boys, but they really did a number on each other.

* * *

"You guys look like crap!" Denki told Katsuki and Izuku the morning after the fight. The explosive blonde leveled a glare while Izuku gave a creepy smile.

"Thank you for stating the obvious, Kaminari-san." Izuku said smoothly. This made everyone turn to the chi-user in shock.

"Damn, how bad is it?" Mina asked. The greenette's smile turned more natural.

"I feel like a walking bruise." he said. "It's not the worst I've felt, but without counting broken bones, it's up there."

"Wait, how many times have you broken bones?" Toru asked.

"I've lost count, but it's been enough times that some of my bones are not in the same shape that I was born with." Izuku noted. When he saw everyone look at him, he sighed and rolled up his sleeve. "If you feel along my forearm and shins, the bone is bumpy instead of smooth; it was something throughout Anima's training." sure enough, the few classmates that felt under the teen's corded muscle noticed how rough it felt.

"I take it he was using Wolff's law?" Ojiro asked, and Izuku nodded.

"What's Wolff's law?" Uraraka questioned. Surprisingly, it was Eijiro who filled the class in.

"It means that bones get stronger over time due to the forces they take. Microfracturing bones again and again over time is how many athletes get to the point of breaking cinder blocks with their bare hands." seeing eyes on him, the redhead blinked in confusion. "What? Anima's doing the same to me during martial arts class; he says it'll make my hardening stronger if I strengthen my unhardened form."

"Anyways," Momo piped up. "What do you suspect we'll face in the license exam?"

"Well, they are wanting heroes." Izuku noted. "So there'll be a test on combat abilities for sure, but we're all pretty good on that front. There's also a good chance for a rescue or hostage situation, as heroes are supposed to save lives, not just beat up the villains. I suggest asking Ectoplasm-san if he could make clones and put them around the USJ and let us rescue them. If we coordinate with class B, then one class can act as the rescuers while the others can act to hinder us like villains in a real situation."

"That is a wonderful suggestion Midoriya-san! Let's ask Aizawa-sensei if it would be alright to do so." Tenya exclaimed. Walking to class together, everyone sat down and waited for homeroom to come around. When the bell rang, Shouta walked through the door.

"Alright, as you know the test is next week, so training is going to be upped appropriately. Yes, Asui." he said as the frog girl raised her hand.

"Midoriya made a good point on our way here; would it be alright to train in a rescue scenario at the USJ? For our hero licenses, it would make sense if they tested our abilities to rescue people during a villain attack." she said without hesitating. Shouta looked around, and realized how little he taught them to actually _save lives like heroes._

"Alright then. Due to the small numbers in class, I'll ask Blood King if he would like his class to join us." the perpetually exhausted teacher agreed.

* * *

Wow, this took longer than I thought. Not due to difficulty, but due to the stuff irl. anyway, if you enjoyed this, please leave a comment. Till next time!


	37. License Exam

Everyone was getting off the bus and prepping for the exam. As some were still nervous, Eijiro decided to break the mood.

"Come on guys! We're going for our licenses! Let's get pumped! Come on, Plus -" he started, and everyone shouted the last part, including someone they didn't know.

"ULTRA!" they all shouted.

"It's not good to randomly insert yourself into other people's huddles, Inasa." someone spoke after the chant, and the new face cursed.

"PLEASE ACCEPT MY APOLOGIES!" he shouted with a bow low enough to smack his forehead on the concrete. Izuku saw the uniform and recognized the shaved student was from Shiketsu High.

"You are forgiven." the martial artist said with his own bow. "Good luck yourself on the exam."

"Thank you for your support!" Inasa said. Izuku handed him a tissue and motioned to his head, and the enthusiastic teen nodded and started wiping the blood off his head before saying his goodbyes.

"That kid's strong." Shouta noted. "During the entrance exam you all took, he had the top score. Though he declined the offer to join UA and turned to Shiketsu." everyone took that information in and decided that they'd work together.

"Eraser? Hey Eraser, it is you!" a feminine voice called from behind, and the UA teacher looked horrified. Looking over was a blonde woman in stripes and smiley faces. "I saw you on tv at the sports festival, but it's been too long since we met face to face. Let's get married!" she asked.

"No thanks…" was the tired teacher's immediate response. The two quipped at one another for a while until Ms. Joke introduced the remainder of her class. Shindou was being overly nice, and both Izuku and Bakugo saw the mask he was wearing. Izuku met it with a projection of chi, stunning the second year students with a warm smile, while the explosive blonde just brushed them off.

"Come on guys, let's suit up and get in gear." the greenette prompted, and everyone left to get ready for the exam.

* * *

Momo had given everyone earpieces, just like they had discussed. Everyone wanted to pass, so those with pride swallowed it and the entire class of 1-A was going to treat every challenge like it was the real deal; that meant teamwork, coordination, planning, and most importantly, _trusting each other_.

The trial was simple. You had six balls to throw, and three targets to protect on you. If all of the targets on you were hit, then you failed; if you nailed the last target on someone, you passed. Out of 1540 test takers, there would only be a hundred to pass this trial. This meant 1-A needed to play their cards just right. Deku realized something and voiced it over the earpiece.

"The sports festival, _crap_."

"The fuck are you on about Deku?" Nitro snarled.

"They know all of our quirks because of the festival, so likely everyone planned against us. We know nothing about anyone _else's_ quirks though." the inheritor of One for All explained.

"We can work with this." Creati said. "Here's the plan, but it needs to be perfect." at that point, the walls of the building folded out to reveal the area they could work with. Deku, Creati, Thermal Shock, and Ingenerate quickly bounced ideas until a solid plan was formed, and everyone moved at once.

* * *

"It's rare for you not to have expelled anyone by now. You must be fond of this bunch." Emi inquired with her friend in the stadium seats.

"No, they're just that good." Shouta praised without batting an eye. The laughing hero looked over in shock; the man had never given that kind of praise to many people, let alone a whole class.

"Well damn, if you're this confident, my kids should look out. What'd you do differently this time?" she asked.

"Me? Nothing. It was Anima who made a difference this year." the erasure hero smirked. "Monster taught them how to be old-school heroes that our grandparents looked up to."

"Well, let's see how well they do." Emi noted. "It's the same thing every year with the exam. The UA Crushing."

At that moment, the signal had blared, and all of the teachers save Shouta were shocked at the smooth movements everyone in UA's freshman class showed. Everyone was moving in different ways, from flips, to quirks, to sliding around, to just running; everyone was doing so with purpose and training, turning the bad situation in their favor. Over the distance, they heard the green-haired teen with lightning dancing across him yell.

"EVERYONE, BRACE YOURSELVES AND STRIKE BACK!" his voice resonated, and Emi swore she felt conviction and comfort in the teen's words. It was like All Might's aura, but calmer, more _focused_.

"You feel the warmth too, I take it?" Shouta asked, and his companion nodded. So it wasn't just a feeling. "Midoriya has done that for a long while. It makes him seem like the pillar that All Might once was, but bigger."

Shivers ran down the teacher's spines; if this was how it felt at this distance, then what was it like up there? Many of the students of UA had managed to score the last shots to pass, leaving Deku and the last of the less offensive fighters. Everyone knew the hero in green could have passed long before now, but seeing him assist his fellow heroes, they couldn't help but notice him.

* * *

Everyone passed. Every. Single. 1-A student. Had made it passed the first trial.

"AH HELL YEAH!" everyone cheered.

"That strategy worked like a goddamn charm Yaoyorozu!" Denki praised.

"It wouldn't work without Bakugo's grenades, that's for sure." Eijiro said, and the blond grinned at the memory of using the explosions as a smoke screen; would have lasted longer if not for Inasa clearing it. That level of control was insane, and Shouto had a new bar to set himself to.

The next part was explained after the series of explosions had changed the playing field. Assist and rescue the civilian stand-ins. There wasn't any explanation to the point system, but Izuku warned everyone to treat that like it was real. This meant everyone checked their first-aid kits, some more in-depth than others, but still there. As everything else was setting up, the remaining students from Shiketsu came up to talk.

"Hey, did any of you run into Shishikura-san?" Nagamasa asked, and Fumikage raised his hand.

"I did. And with the help of dark shadow, we had overcome him at the bridge." the raven-headed teen admitted. The hair-covered student bowed in response.

"If he said anything abrasive, he has issues with people without the same view. He's trying, but it's difficult sometimes." Nagamasa said, and Fumikage responded that there was no ill will.

"Oh, Yoarashi," Shouta turned to the wind user. "You were amazing out there. I hope to reach your level eventually." the dual-quirk user bowed.

"Just don't turn like your old man." Inasa said with mild venom; he may not like the scarred teen, but from his words, it was clear Shouto wanted to improve.

"That bastard? Like hell I'll be like him." the teen responded. "Even though you don't like me, we shouldn't let that hinder us as heroes."

Though the two insanely powerful teens didn't see eye to eye, the small talk let them get over something in between the two.

* * *

A siren went off, and the full scenario was given, and everyone was set loose.

"Thermal shock, Tsukiyomi, and Earphone Jack help the other schools set up a safe zone for helicopters and medics with me, and give extensive first aid to any that we'll have coming our way. Everyone else group in threes and call in when the situation changes!" Creati ordered, receiving several 'roger's from the class. Deku came up to a child crying, and he came in to move him.

"Uahhh!" the HUC kid was bawling. "Gramps got crushed!" he explained, but Izuku first checked up on him. His pulse was fine, but his panicking was going to agitate any injury on him. Projecting his chi to calm him down, the hero in green smiled.

"Hey, it's alright now. We'll check everywhere, but right now, we need to get you patched up." he comforted before applying some basic first aid. "Sugar rush, take him to the safe zone, I'll see if the kid's family is alright."

"Sure thing." the muscled hero said before picking the child up and carefully making his way to the area. Izuku started sensing with his chi and found more people under the rubble. Directing Ingenerate to the locations, the two found a couple of old men.

"Hey! You alright down there?" the armored hero called, and the men responded with slurred speech. Going over, Deku and his partner checked them over before carrying them to the safe area.

Then trouble happened.

KABOOM!

An area blew up, And over the earpieces were curses.

"Gang Orca! He and his sidekicks usually specialize in demolition rescue, breaking rubble into smaller pieces. Be careful." Deku informed over the earpieces, shocking the HUC members that were listening.

"Fuck!" Nitro cursed. "Charge, Riot, Sugar, Tail, and invisibitch, with me! Pinky, Cellophane, and Grape, create a perimeter! If they get too close to it, turn 'em back, or turn 'em to ash! If there are civvies in the perimeter, Deku, Engine, and Uravity are getting them out."

"Nitro, keep the collateral to a minimum. Other than that, you heard him!" Ingenerate backed up. This was the structure they all had; Creati would be the strategist and home defender, Ingenerate was the field commander, Nitro was the captain of the combat force, and Deku was the one who could take any role in case he needed to. Information was spread freely between not just the class, but the other heroes-in-training as well.

* * *

Hadena was used to these types of exercises, keep the makeup on, act panicked, and when the time came, see how well the heroes did in the rescue. When the "villains" came into the picture, she didn't even flinch; there something missing in the fake disasters like this that you couldn't get in a real situation.

But the heroes-to-be were something this time around.

Red Riot, as she heard his name, was boxing many goons in with the help of his partner in yellow. The explosive-user was keeping the boss busy and Chargezuma was thinning the crowd with his lightning. When one of the villain's had seen her, she knew they'd attempt a hostage situation. Red riot saw them move, and her. Charging head-first, the stone-skinned teen had tackled the villain unconscious before standing in between her and the mob they were facing.

"Deku, we got a civvie over here, and she's too close to the group. Get over here ASAP." he called over the earpiece like they had many times before, but the young girl couldn't bother herself to care.

Deku? As in, _her_ Deku? She had trouble believing it until she felt that aura of calm. That feeling of ' _you're safe now, nothing can hurt you_ ' that she remembered vividly from the rainy night her life turned around.

"Hey!" the familiar voice called, and she couldn't hold back her tears. In his forest green and black was her favorite hero. "Ah, Hadena-san!" he remembered. She didn't think he would, but that he not only remembered her face but name, she was almost at a loss for words. But there was still one.

"Deku!" she called, and the older teen ran to her. His touch was gentle as he checked her over for injuries. She was supposed to have a broken leg, and he splinted the limb just like a professional.

"Glad to see you in better circumstances than the last time we met." he said with a smile. "How's your brother, Bara, right?"

"Onii-chan's back in the shop again." she responded.

"That's good. Now we'll get you out of this and to the safe zone my friends have set up." Deku explained, and she could only nod. "Red Riot, Sugar Rush, could you get her out of here; you two look like you need a breather. Nitro, switch places, your explosions will do more good against the group, and I'll take the heavy." he finished over the earpiece, the three heroes flinching at the blonde's volume. As Hadena was being carried, she saw the confidence in his stride against so many people. She couldn't seem to worry though; this was _her_ hero, and she couldn't see this stopping him.

* * *

That's enough for this chapter! I wanted to finish in a single chapter, but that doesn't look possible, so it'll be split. I know I've glossed over the battle trial, but there were _so many_ moving parts, so it got the same treatment as the Villain raid arc. Also, Hadena is back for a little! Her life has been looking up since chapter 14 (holy hell, was it that long ago? damn.). Also, I looked at the roster in 1-A, and if well explored, the class can be really good at many aspects of being heroes; combat, rescue, and disaster. With so many leader types for every command role, when they all can work together, the crap they can pull off is pretty big. Anyway, please leave a comment, I'll never stop liking your feedback! Till next time!


	38. License Exam part 2

We reached 100k words! Huzzah! Thank you, everyone, who has stayed with my story so far; it's awesome knowing so many of you love reading this. Onto the story!

* * *

Gang Orca was having issues dealing with the three heroes he was up against. Gale was providing long-range support while Tectonic was shaking the ground to prevent him from finding any good footing. The worst one was Nitro due to his destructive force and relentless assault. Seeing a twitch, Orca was wondering if the aftershocks were finally getting to him.

"The fuck, you'll take the bastard!? Fucking fine, but you fuckers had better not have taken more than half of the fucking thugs!" he shouted, and Orca realized that he was talking through an _earpiece_. The aquatic hero had to give props where it was due; communication in this mess can be very difficult.

"Yo Tectonic!" the explosive hero shouted. "We're tapping out with someone and keeping the goons busy; your damn quirk should break their shit toys! Gale, fucking cover us for three seconds!" while Gang orca didn't enjoy the cursing, seeing the other two follow his command without hesitating was a good sign. Gale had kicked up a massive dust storm, drying out the whaleman's skin enough he had to use his water bottle. His echolocation warned him of the attack coming from behind, and he raised his arms in a guard.

Holy hell! Did someone throw a steel girder at him!?

"Clear!" a voice rang out in front of Gang orca, telling him that it was a student that bruised his arms. The smokescreen cleared, showing him that Nitro and Tectonic were immobilizing his men, and the teen that hit him was the one going by Deku.

"All civilians in the perimeter have been moved to the new safe zone; don't hold back!" Deku called, and for a moment, Gang Orca could have sworn he was fighting All Might back in school, not a _kid_. He tried for a sonic attack on the green-clad teen, but Deku countered it with a punch and kiya. The lightning covering the boy grew brighter, and Gang orca braced for a hell of a fight.

He was not disappointed. Deku was striking from every angle, dodging the massive hero's own punches and often using the momentum to stay airborne and deliver kicks that made the adult's head ring through the blubber he had. Orca was also dealing with large debris flying at him courtesy of Gale, but never impeding Deku; screw impeding, Deku was using the flying stones as _platforms_!

"Kids these days are scary as hell." he mumbled under his breath. He didn't even notice his restrictive gear had been shattered as he was trying to keep up.

" _Attention_ " came the announcer's voice over the speaker system. " _All of the HUC have been evacuated and treated. The exam is now over. After we have tallied your scores, we would like you to gather at the platform. All who have suffered injuries, please go to the medical tent to be looked over_."

Deku had been in a stance, ready to react to anything, but he had relaxed at the announcement of the exam ending. Straightening, the greenette looked at his opponent before giving a bow.

"Thank you for assisting in the exam, Orca-san." he said, surprising the professional hero.

"It's part of the job description," he replied. "Though I have to say, you hit like a truck; even through the restriction gear, I was worried about letting you connect."

"Oh, was that what the guards were?" Deku asked, pointing at the arms. Orca nodded before realizing the damage they were in. "I thought they were a new part of your equipment, so I targeted them to prevent them from being used." the teen said, scratching his head in embarrassment. Confirming with his eyes that the armor was in fact broken, the aquatic hero laughed heartily.

"Damn, brat. I so I was fighting near my best most of the fight, and you still kept up! You're going far kid, I'll tell ya that!" he barked. Deku smiled, and for some reason, Gang Orca felt comfort from it.

'He's just like Toshinori, with that charisma. No, he's going to be better.' he thought.

* * *

Everyone had passed. All one hundred students had worked together, and with minimum trouble, secured the civilians while successfully capturing many of the "terrorists". Some had barely scraped by, but no one was going to need to take the test again. When everyone read the reports they were given, many had ideas on how to improve their shortcomings.

"Man, a 95 out of a hundred; mom's gonna flip!" Izuku smiled. The only point they told him to work on was his ability to analyze the situation; breaking the restriction gear didn't do him any favors.

"I'm envious, I only got 80." Tenya announced. "My brash judgment still seems to be an issue. I must rectify this!"

"Don't worry 'bout it!" Eijiro called. "At least you didn't freeze up; that'd get someone killed in the field." he said, pounding his chest.

"You sound like Anima-sensei…" Tsuyu pointed out, making the rest of the class chuckle. Action really was something the werewolf emphasized every chance he got.

"Does this feel real to you guys?" Ochaco asked. "Like, we just fought dozens of schools, did an entire rescue exercise with eighty other students, and even then all of us get licenses to act as heroes. Doesn't this seem unreal?"

"Yeah, but I've gotten hurt over this; a dream this ain't." Denki said.

"Non non. It would be unreal if someone from our fabulous class _didn't_ pass." Yuuga chimed in. Rikido and Koji both nodded in agreement.

"Alright, settle down." the announcer called. "You will receive your licenses before you leave, so collect them in the lobby from one of the paper-pushers. I need sleep."

* * *

Izuku was staring at his hero ID, and was having trouble containing himself. When one of the HUC rescuees showed up though, he forgot it for a moment.

"You the young'n going by Deku?" the elderly man asked. Izuku bowed in greeting.

"Yes I am sir. Is there something I can help you with?" he asked.

"Hadena-chan heard ya passed, so she wanted ta say congrats. You'll be able ta talk with her while ya help us pack up." the rescue worker said. "By the by, name's Shogeki. I'm the leader of this group of rescue victims." he joked.

"Pleasure to meet you, Shogeki-san." the greenette said while following behind. "What about the bus though?"

"We'll drop ya off near UA; Eraserhead gave us permission ta use ya as a pack mule." Shogeki smiled, making the teen grin back. As they came to the large truck, Izuku looked at how things were being packed up; most of the equipment was first aid supplies in case something went wrong in the test, but other parts were costumes and makeup for false injuries. Seeing Hadena wiping her bruises off her and looking rather happy, Izuku couldn't help but find himself mirroring her.

"Hadena-chan!" he called, startling her. The middle-schooler looked over and saw her hero, her smile turning radiant.

"Deku!" she called, making her co-workers snicker as her makeup was still only half-cleaned up as she tackle-hugged the greenette. I made do on the promise; I saw you become a real hero!"

"Ya wouldn't believe the things she told us about you when you helped her." Shogeki said with a grin. The teenage girl sputtered.

"I-i-i w-was just telling y-you about him because you asked Sogeki-senpai!" Izuku laughed at her embarrassment.

"I didn't think I was worth talking that much about; we only met for about three hours after all!" the greenette joked, projecting his chi to calm her down. The other members of the help me company felt the soothing aura he had and smiled in return. "Still, I'm glad you're doing so much better. I barely recognized you."

"Onii-chan's better, and now he's working in the flower shop again. I've managed to get training here to work off some of the bills, and I'm applying for UA's Management department!" Hadena said with cheer. Izuku was glad her life was looking up from when they met, and was more than willing to give support for her.

"That's fantastic!" he said before his phone started going off. Bowing in apologies, he answered while Hadens went back to taking her fake injuries off with water and soap.

" _Yo Izuku, I saw you passed on the exam_." Anima's voice came from over the phone.

"Hai, Anima-sensei, everyone in 1-A passed!" Izuku stated. "How did you..?"

" _I work in your school, I get to see the changes to your status. You wanna patrol tonight with me?_ " the werewolf half-joked. " _Anyway, you don't have classes for the next couple of days, so I'm picking you up to catch up to Inko._ "

"Thanks, I'll be ready by then." Izuku noted, not noticing the rumble in the background.

" _Alright, I'll let you go now. See ya soon._ " the monster said.

"See you soon. bye." the greenette responded before hanging up. He then turned back to Hadena, who looked stunning without any bruises on her, and continued where they left off. The two talked for a while as Izuku lifted some of the heavier boxes where they needed to go. When everyone started hearing a motorcycle, Izuku facepalmed.

"He _would_." the teen groaned. Driving up on a red motorcycle was Anima. "Hadena-san, that's my ride. Have a nice day, and I hope you get in UA."

"See you soon, Izuku." she answered before staring at the massive person on the iron horse.

"Yo, I came to pick you up!" the martial arts master said with a grin. Izuku smiled as he shook his head. "What, you thought I'd pick you up at school?"

"Kinda." the teen answered before looking at the bike. "Where's my helmet?" he asked. Anima never wore one because he didn't need it, but he always had a spare on the bike. This time he didn't hand it to Izuku, and that worried the hero-in-training.

"You do realize you can shatter steel with a kick and outrun cars now, right? You don't need one." the werewolf said.

"Iida wears a helmet for his hero costume." Izuku reasoned.

"Iida's a freaking stick." Anima responded without missing a beat.

"Helmet." the greenette put his hand out, and Anima sighed before turning the motorcycle off and turning the key to get a dark green full-face helmet from under the seat. Izuku caught the protective gear as it was thrown at him and put it on. He would have preferred a motor jacket, but he'd be fine; Anima had a point about not needing the same gear someone else would. Before the teen got on the bike behind his teacher, Shogeki pulled him to the side.

"Look, kid, I may not know all of the specifics behind Hadena-chan's circumstances, but _you are her hero_. We old-timers in the HUC like havin' her 'round, so thank you for saving her. If ya need us fer anythin', give us a call." the elderly worker said, handing Izuku a card with a number. The young hero gave a bow.

"Thank you." he said simply before returning to Anima. The teen made sure he was secure before turning to the werewolf. "Don't break any traffic laws?"

"No promises." was the only answer as the motorcycle revved and sped off. The HUC members saw the lighting that signified the boy's quirk shining as a scream echoed. The rescuees laughed at the absurdity; how can someone risk their lives in a fight without hesitating be scared of riding with someone who speeds?

* * *

I liked writing this chapter. Anyway, next chapter is going to be about the big three. I know I'm skipping chapters, but most of it was dealt with beforehand. If you liked this chapter please leave a response! Till next time!


	39. Third Years

Nejire was excited for today. She and her two friends were going to be working with the first years that all managed to become provisional heroes.

"What do you think they're like, do think they got their licenses by talent or learned skill? What quirks do you think they have?" she asked while hopping down the hall in a bubbly mood.

"I just hope they won't be too intense." Tamaki said with an air of nervousness. The phaser of the group laughed.

"Come on Tamaki! Try and look optimistically! If it helps, try Imagining you're talking to Potatoes!" Mirio said with enthusiasm. He hadn't had the chance to scout the class like he hoped, but it'd still be fun. When the Big Three found themselves at the door to 1-A.

"Come in." they heard from the homeroom teacher. As they walked in, Aizawa introduced them. "Let's hear how the Internships differed from field training. The people in front of you have taken the time from their schedules to talk to you all about this, so pay attention. These third years rank the top amongst the school and are known as the Big Three."

"So these three are the top? I mean, I heard about them, but…" a girl with plug-in ears commented before being cut off by her blonde neighbor.

"Damn, I can see some of why though. That stance…" he said before another student with a massive tail nodded in agreement. Nejire looked at the rest of the class, who were all getting excited. The thing that stood out was the atmosphere; no matter if they were loud or quiet, abrasive or calm, _none_ of them were being dismissive of their looks.

The shockwave user was more than used to people looking through her and her friends because of how plain they looked in normal clothes or how weird they were, but everyone was looking at them like they were strong. Only one looked ready to start a fight (though from everyone else's lack of reaction she assumed that was his default look) but the rest just looked like they would act in an instant; to see this many individuals actually take them seriously without a demonstration was rather sobering. The only conclusion she could make made her think twice about the approach they planned.

'These kohai are all trained better than we were at their age.'

"Could you give us a brief introduction then?" Aizawa asked, breaking Nejire's train of thought. "Starting with you, Amajiki."

The pointy-eared teen in question looked over the class, and both Nejire and Mirio knew he wasn't trying to be intimidating, but his gaze was still sharp to those uninformed of his mindset. Tamaki was trying to use Mirio's advice and imagine them as tubers, but the other two knew it was starting to be a losing battle.

Then everything went calm.

The Blunette turned her head to the source and saw one of the first years just giving a small smile of encouragement. It was so small, but she could literally _feel_ the comfort he was emanating with ease. The green-haired boy just held that aura, and it was calming the Chimera down enough for him to give a basic introduction.

"My name's Amajiki Tamaki, and my quirk lets me Manifest anything I consume for a day. I intern under Fatgum, who focuses on capturing and apprehending villains." Tamaki got out before backing up behind the other two. The shockwave-user decided to ride the good mood and introduced herself next.

"Hiya! I'm Hado Nejire, and I work under Ryukyu, who focuses on combat! My quirk lets me turn metabolic energy into kinetic shockwaves! I hope to get to know you all." she chimed in joy. She would have gone longer if not to give Mirio time.

"Hello everyone! My name's Togata Mirio, and I can phase through all forms of matter! I work under Sir Nighteye, who focuses on tactics and information gathering! I hope to work with you all in the future!" the permeable blonde said with an exaggerated bow.

"Though I can see you all have a good understanding of yourselves, the easiest way for us to understand where everyone's at, how about a spar?" Mirio asked, and Nejire was surprised at the calm acceptance of the underclassmen; she had a feeling there was something the three of them were missing. Wanting to see how the class fared herself, the blunette decided to pipe up.

"Then let's have the three of us take on the twenty of you!" she cheered.

* * *

Mirio took a look around the TDL to see the non-uniform gym attire everyone had. Ashido's shirt was more form-fitting, Toru's was a tank top and shorts, Fumikage wore a long shawl over his torso, Katsuki's shirt was torn at the shoulders and forced to be a tank top, hell, Tenya was the only one who was wearing the proper uniform, but even he had cut the pants to just below the knee. Izuku wasn't even _trying_ for school issued.

"Yo Midoriya, when'd you get that getup?" Kaminari asked; the blonde's gym outfit looked like a wetsuit more than gym clothes.

"Huh? Oh, Anima-sensei got it when we were traveling. It's made for ease of movement, so I asked if it was alright to use it for gym, and Aizawa-san passed it." the greenette said. His outfit was a deep forest green with a crimson dragon in the front and a golden character on the back the phaser thought looked close to the kanji for Protection, but he wasn't 100% sure. Light green vines crawled up the legs and he wore what looked like slippers, but obviously made for outdoor use. Another thing he noticed was the signet ring with a plant of some kind on the face.

"Alright, we'll start at the buzzer!" Mirio chimed as his clothes fell through him. He was expecting someone to flush, but no one even said a word. Tamaki turned his palms into clam shells, and Nejire was shaking her jitters out. When the buzzer went off, the Big Three started moving.

They then learned why 1-A was known as the "monster class" by the staff of UA.

Deku led the charge with a blazing-fast leg sweep to Mirio, who made his shins permeable to the impact. The blonde then felt the bruising force of the wind displaced by the limb and regretted not just dodging. Tamaki tried to go for the teen that was now behind the three, but Red Riot charged in to prevent that while Nitro shouted to someone and started _flying_ at Nejire to counter her shockwaves with his explosions.

Then the ground erupted into shards from Earphone Jack's quirk, disrupting their footing. Mirio's world then turned black as he started to fall through everything. He timed the decent and made his angle before trying to become solid once again, rocketing out behind the class where the longer ranged heroes were to thin the competition out. When he could see again, he saw that _everyone_ had responded to his disappearance like _professionals_. Thermal Shock covered the ground with ice spikes around them that wouldn't punch through their soles but would make it difficult for the half-naked third year to close the distance.

"He fell at normal speeds, but the rise must have been faster!" Mirio cursed in his head at the speed Deku had managed to deduce that info from him; he didn't know exactly how, but the way everyone reacted to it meant they trusted the info the greenette gave. He dodged a splash of acid to his face, not wanting to compromise his senses with phasing as he started rising and falling to close in with the ranged heroes with minimal cuts on him, aiming for the girl that shattered the battlefield.

Then he felt his skin almost rip off from one of Grape Juice's orbs tagging his back and adhering to a piece of ice.

"Stay away from the ladies man." the dwarf said with a grin. Mirio released himself from the orb and dodged a laser, but everyone was already moving. Creati made a few weapons and started throwing them to some classmates, and the phaser saw the ease many of them had when handling them that screamed familiarity. Deciding that keeping her around would be dangerous, he angled himself and the world went dark again before appearing behind her. The busty teen turned on a dime before throwing a bokken at his face. Unable to dodge, he simply phased through the long projectile with a tilt from his head to keep an eye on her.

Then came a pain from behind across his left shoulder that gave the creator time to move away.

* * *

Shouta was impressed at both ends. The third years were holding up against a larger force rather well, all things considered; some glancing blows were a given, but even then they weren't crippling and the Big Three were not underestimating their opponents.

His class of monsters though were doing far better than he thought they would. Eijiro and Koji were keeping Tamaki from flanking by staying in his face and tanking the older teen's strikes, while Mashirao and Tsuyu were going for the offense with Minoru trying to limit the chimera's movement. Momo was passing weapons around to everyone who needed, and making sure everyone was working on the best opponent they could. Yuga and Mina were switching between Nejire and Mirio to keep the upperclassmen from getting a pattern and harassing them. Nejire was having her shockwaves countered by Katsuki while Ochaco was disorienting her by negating her gravity and releasing her powers while throwing her around.

Rikido was keeping close with the blunette with Toru, making sure she didn't pull a bakugo and use her quirk to blast away while Hanta used his tape to ground her. Fumikage was offering a defense to those that needed to quickly reset alongside Shoto, who was also harassing Tamaki with fire. Kyoka, Denki, and Mezo were trying to defend the students with range while Tenya and Midoriya were blitzing around the field to flank the third years with hit-and-run tactics. Mirio tried to take Momo out, likely to limit the support, but Momo just threw a weapon through him.

That would have been smart if there weren't people able to respond fast enough in the fight.

Izuku had grabbed the practice sword and quickly took a shot at the blonde's open back, leaving a mark that would likely bruise, before running off to strike at Tamaki, who was starting to slow down.

'These kids are fighting practically, using their numbers to wear down the stronger fighters and reducing the risk of injuries.' the night hero recognised the tactic from the USJ months ago, and he could honestly say they it was ironic to see heroes-in training use a strategy taught to them by _villains_ aiming to kill him.

Not that he wouldn't do the same given the situation.

Seeing the situation was getting a little out of hand, he decided to step in. no use in them getting too hurt over a simple spar, regardless of Recovery Girl's abilities.

"Alright that's enough!" he called, making everyone stop. "Any longer would be dangerous and meaningless. You three, do you think you saw enough?" he asked, and the third years simply nodded with various levels of enthusiasm.

"Then finish up and tell everyone about the basics of what you wanted to show with this display." the homeroom teacher said, and they nodded before turning back to the freshmen heroes, all of which had various injuries from scrapes to bruises. Shouta was writing a nurse note for Katsuki and Eijiro; the redhead was favoring his left leg too much for anything that could be walked off in a day, and the blonde had bruises forming on his palms from canceling that many shockwaves in such a short time.

* * *

As homeroom had ended, Tamaki was walking back to class with his friends. He was sporting a rather nice bruise on his cheek from that redhead, but he wasn't hurt enough to need a visit to the nurse.

"So what did you all think of the spar; anyone catch your eye?" he asked.

"Oh, I think that explosive kid's got a lot of skill, and the girl with the gravity quirk was amazingly good at keeping me off balance! I don't know how anyone could adjust to having no gravity on the fly without practice." Nejire said with cheer.

"I gotta give it to Midoriya." Mirio said with respect. "He not only managed to deduce my 'teleporting' quickly, but he managed to anticipate me and coordinate with another to surprise attack me. I think he might like Sir Nighteye."

"What about you Amajiki?" Nejire asked the Chimera.

"Kirishima was a stone wall most of the fight, but he did prevent me from coming to assist you two." he grinned in embarrassment.

"Oh man! I didn't even realize they were doing that!" Mirio exclaimed, wincing at the bruise on his back. "Hado?"

"I was more focused on getting past my opponents than you guys, but looking back, I see that was the plan. Divide and conquer, and no one needed to say a word for the plan. Our kohai are rather scary!" she chirped. Tamaki couldn't help but agree.

* * *

DONE! You guys had no idea how difficult this chapter was to write; seriously, this was attempt six. For the fight, I didn't want 1-A to mop the floor with the Big Three, but I'm sorry, no one can fight twenty heroes in training without a scratch. You can't keep track of everything, and lucky shots will happen. But our class wasn't unscathed either, so it shows that within the confines of the match, the _three third years_ were on similar footing to the _twenty first years_ they were up against. Anyway, that's enough for today, thank you so much for reading, and please leave a comment. Till next time!


	40. On the Other Side

This chapter is a little shorter, but I hope you enjoy it. Also, feels warning; Eri, enough said.

* * *

"So," Shigaraki stated with no decorum to the individual across from him. "You want lackeys, and you think we'd do anything for you _why_?" there was no fear in the ashen teen's voice, no rage or hate, there was only a confidence that nothing could go wrong in their hideout.

Chisaki despised that relaxed attitude.

"Because we have similar goals." the bird-masked yakuza responded, not giving any indication to his emotions. "This world is filled with the disease of heroes, and you'll have access to some of our resources. I can't imagine you can do much in a place like this." he gestured to the rest of the building. There was little in the way of equipment, nor was there much furniture. If this was what they had left after the attack in Kamino ward, then they needed the Eight Precepts of Death for many things, tech included.

"Oh, and what would you have that we couldn't get elsewhere?" the disintegrator asked blithely. Chisaki very much wanted to make them bow to their much larger numbers, but the oyabun knew better than to keep too many people in fear, otherwise, he'd have someone try and kill him; consolidating his power base was the reason he was even talking to these failures.

"How about a way to take away a hero's quirk?" the bird-masked criminal suggested, pulling out a small case and showing the contents. Inside were several needles about the size of a 9mm bullet. Though the product was incomplete, they would deal with a hero's quirk for at least a few minutes, more than long enough to kill the powerless disease. Shigaraki looked in the case.

"Well that is interesting, what's the origin? Chemical, biological, radioactive, what?" he asked with interest. Chisaki wasn't surprised that the child in front of him was now interested, but he was hoping for a bigger reaction.

"Genetic material." the oyabun admitted. To him, the methods weren't important, only the end result; telling these failures a part of where they came from wouldn't affect him in the long run.

"We're leaving everyone; we aren't getting involved." Chisaki had to take a moment to realize what the other leader had said. Shigaraki and his cronies were standing up and away from him without any fanfare.

"And why are you walking away?" the bird-masked man asked as he was trying to not act out in a rage; he came all this way and these failures decide to just _walk away_?

"Because you're playing with a powderkeg right now." Shigaraki told him. "Nomu are seen by the public as monsters, not weapons, so we get some leeway; your bullets can be seen as nothing _but_ a weapon. If the government cracks down on you, there's little you can do to stop them."

"I'm not scared of heroes coming after me, I've got enough men to hurt them bad enough." Chisaki reasoned, only for the kid to fucking laugh.

"Did I say heroes?" the leader of the league said with a grin. "No, I'm talking about soldiers, black ops, hell, _a daisy cutter!_ What about if they call your quirk-stealing bullets weapons of terrorism and ask for _international help_? You don't have the political, personal, or manpower to stop thousands of trained soldiers.

And this doesn't begin to talk about the other powers out there, or did you think quirks were all that was? News flash asshole, _they aren't_. Some people gained powers from accidents that changed them outside of genetics, others gained power through enlightenment or mystic will. Some are literally _not human enough_ for those bullets to work! What happens then?"

There was a silence as everyone waited for an answer.

"Come on everyone, no traces." he said, and the league started cleaning up. Dabi set fire to the couch they were just on, Jin started pouring industrial cleaners on the floor, Toga was on the computer to destroy their digital trail, Kenji worked on throwing away loose articles into a bin and setting that on fire, and Kurogiri was staying out of the way to warp them.

"Yo Overhaul, ya might want 'ta get outta here; these cleaners are nasty." Jin called out, and the oyabun realized that they were using _flammable_ cleaners. At least he could respect their thoroughness.

"Fine, I'll see myself out. If you happen to come to your senses, then you know where to find me." Chisaki said.

"Another mistake you've made." Shigaraki replied. "If we can find you, so can others. You may want to make some hidden shelters when things go south."

"Don't you mean if?"

"No, _when_. Heroes have an annoying history of fucking up the best plans just by being in the damn area, not to mention when they decide to involve themselves." Chisaki left after the exchange, leaving them to destroy all of the evidence from the meeting. If these failures were going to be paranoid and superstitious, then there was little they could offer him.

* * *

Stain was oiling his o katana after crippling another fake while Spinner, his new apprentice, was wrapping the wound in cloth; better to leave a living example than a false martyr.

"Boss, we gotta get moving. Cops are gonna get here any minute." the lizard man said, gripping the claymore over his shoulder. Both of them had learned their lesson from their defeats, got more practical weapons and took to maintaining them after targets. The results spoke for themselves as they didn't have nearly as many issues the previous weapons.

"Sure…" the hero killer said, sheathing his blade as the two started climbing up the alley wall and onto the rooftops. It was routine for the pair now, but Spinner still had trouble with some climbs with his heavier weapon and less experience.

"Damn, the cops got here fast didn't they?" the lizard man asked rhetorically, as the sirens were within earshot now. They would have to move fast to dodge the search perimeter before it was up.

"Just move it kid. The dead drop is closing off at sunset, and I don't want to have evidence in the freezer." the hero killer urged. The object in question was the right arm of Yoroi Musha. Archibald wanted it and gave the killers the tools to do it, and they took the chance to take one of the top fakes out of commision.

"What do you think he uses the parts for though? I mean, he's made flesh golems, but those were whole bodies." Spinner questioned as the bloodstained duo managed to clear the search area.

"No clue, but it's worrying; it's always taking parts and leaving them alive. If what you remember is true, then why did he switch from whole corpses to pieces? But he's giving us the tools to purge the fakes from if not the world, then at least the infected system." Stain admitted. Ever since he found what to look for, the number of people in the moonlit world were something else. At least he and spinner were learning ways to boost their physical abilities with runes, but now they knew that they weren't the only things out there, and it was more than a little intimidating. As the two killers managed to get to drop the false hero's limb off, they went back to the hideout to plan the next target or were directed to the next one by the broken mage.

* * *

In the darkness of what looked to be a padded safe, there was a scared girl that looked like a fairy, if not for her scars and matted hair that gave a helplessness to her. Her room had many soft things that were supposed to keep her calm, but the artificial fur felt more like thin barbs to her, scratching until she pulled away. She didn't cry at the surroundings, nor did she scream or shout in defiance.

Pointless

That single word had been forced on her so many times. Pointless to scream, Pointless to cry, Pointless to smile or laugh or… nothing would change the fact _he_ saw her as nothing but material to harvest. She would be broken apart, parts would be taken, and then she would be put back together and thrown back into her padded safe; not room, it _never_ felt like a room to her. She knew that nothing would change, but she still held onto something; it was small and tenuous, but it was holding her together even while it was tearing her up inside.

Hope

To some, that emotion was the only thing to hold onto, and it saved them. A soldier would use it to push forward and return to the family waiting at home for them. A man in poverty was able to use it to give a blessing to those who gave him small offerings to keep him in the realm of the living. A protestor would draw strength from it to see their better world take place.

To others, hope was a curse. A prostitute in Taiwan didn't hope because she didn't have any clue of what to hope _for_ , other than not to contract something that would kill her. A slave didn't hope for freedom because he would only end up killed, and it was better to live a slave than die free. Spouses didn't hope because they knew if they showed more defiance, the person they were married to would notice and beat them further.

This girl, the _broken,_ _tiny_ girl, hoped because she didn't know what else to do. She hoped to be free from the pain and darkness, the sterile rooms and fake smiles. She hoped to see the sun again and not be caught this time. She hoped to feel warmth and love instead of clinical disinterest and scientific curiosity. She hoped that she would feel something other than the cold stone on her feet and the still, cold air

"Eri." she flinched at her name, that cruel title that told her that she was broken beyond reason, and the person who said it. "Come along; you're needed."

"Hai…" she said quietly, as she once again walked to the room she knew would break her again. She wished that there was a way _out_.

Later she would look back on that wish with emotions she didn't have back then.

* * *

That's a wrap, and damn! Anyways, thank you all for reading and enjoying my story thus far. Please leave a review; I've kept up with everyone and read all 165 of your replies and ideas. Next chapter is Nighteye! Till next time!


	41. Vision

I RETURN! My computer was in the shop due to what I _thought_ would be quick fixes, but it took around four weeks to fix. Now that I have it back, however, I'm going to Vegas for Combat-con so I can't bring it with me; don't expect a chapter for a couple weeks _minimum_. But for now, enjoy the story.

* * *

Sir Nighteye saw the future. It was common knowledge among those who worked with him. When he pulled his glasses down, he could see the future of anyone his eyes were focusing on. He called it foresight, and everyone assumed it was his quirk. His father was known for seeing the past through objects and his mother could see variables in cause-effect, so everyone assumed his power was the result of their quirks merging.

They would be wrong on those fronts.

Sir could see into the future, yes, but he didn't have a quirk; in fact, no one in his immediate family had one either. His power to see beyond time was due to his mother's abilities and a twist in fate. His power was hard to control as a child because he saw everything. He saw the small pockets in the ground and the ant colonies that would use it to make brilliant tunnel structures if left alone. He saw the man across the street go home to find his wife crying that she was carrying a child. The dog in the neighbor's yard would be treated with a flea bath when his owners came home. So many mundane things came to him just at a glance and while some could be beautiful, but it was more than he could take in.

He could also see tragedies. The car driving down the street would have its brake lines cut in a week from a crazy ex. The cat he liked to pet would be run over next month. The businessman would be shot two alleys down Friday. He always saw them, good, bad, or not necessary, but he couldn't control his sight; he couldn't _not_ see the world when everything was screaming for his attention.

Men weren't supposed to be seers, after all. For one reason or another, women could manage to sort through prophecies and visions far better than men. Could men use magic to see the future, of course, but being born with the sight would drive men insane. Male seers couldn't cope, and women could.

Sir Nighteye broke that rule.

It wasn't easy, but his parents had managed to get a someone with knowledge of magic to teach their son how to use some of her mystic arts. He was given glasses that could filter the future out of his vision. Spots were still in his peripherals, but they weren't nearly as distracting anymore. Now he could make the glasses himself and even create enchantments for his clothes to make heroing easier.

He still saw though, and sometimes, what he saw was _magnificent_. He saw All Might become the best hero during his debut, but far before he was even considered among the top fifty; he wanted to watch it happen in person, see the titan of a man become the peak of heroism, and he wanted to help him get to that point, and he wanted to be in that legend even if it was in the background. Sure he'd be forgotten by most, but so was Iolaus, and the story he was in was still there after _millennia_.

But he was reminiscing too much, and Mirio was bringing in someone for an internship. He knew from the reports that the kid was given One for All, and he was worried. That power was dangerous in the wrong hands, and it was given to a kid in middle school instead of the intern he had been helping reach his peak; Sir didn't want that power to be wasted.

"Sir, I've come with Midoriya!" he heard the hyper blonde call from the other side of the door.

"Come in." the seer called. If he wasn't worth it, Sir Nighteye would just deny the kid.

* * *

Izuku was nervous about meeting Sir Nighteye. He had done his research, and All Might's former sidekick was a force in his own right with both his quirk and physical attributes. Something in the back of his mind told Izuku that there was something he was missing though, and he hoped it wouldn't affect his chance. As Mirio called out to his boss, there was a quiet confirmation on the other side.

The room had All might memorabilia everywhere.

Posters, figurines, booklets, bobbleheads, it looked like his room at home. He recognized some of them as real collector's items that had few made. The desk was sturdy and wooden, good to have in an area where everyone has full access to potentially destructive quirks. Tearing his eyes away from the content in the room, Izuku looked at the leader of Nighteye heroics.

In a well-pressed light-gray suit with a red with white polka dot tie, the man looked like a lawyer or salaryman, but Izuku saw it for what it was. The well-made suit was a challenge; it silently said 'I am good enough to fight you and keep my suit fine'. The only thing Izuku could point out of place were small lines under the hero's eyes telling of minor exhaustion. Remembering Mirio's advice of his humor, Izuku went for a joke that could either make him laugh or piss him off.

"So, do you still drink coffee, or have you forgone being civil, lined up the grounds, and just snorted it." Izuku mimed the actions with his words as if doing a line of coke. The silence after the question lingered for a moment before Mirio broke it.

"Pfft! Hahahaha!" the phasing hero started laughing before Nighteye pulled his head down, but Izuku could see the twitch of his shoulders signaling the silent laugh.

"Alright, I'll give you that one; I can't even remember the last time an interview used me as the butt of the joke." the well-dressed hero said, lifting his head to show the slight smile Izuku won. "So, why should we spend resources on you for an internship?" he asked, thinking about what the answer could be.

"Well, your organization focuses on information and tactics, which while I don't have much training in, I do like tracking and cataloging quirks and abilities people have. As a freshman, I can learn many of the tricks you and your group can teach while taking less time for combat training, as I've been trained far longer in martial arts." Izuku pointed out. He wanted to expand his training other than with fights, so he came to one of the best in terms of intelligence. While he didn't have much to bring to the table at the moment, the green-haired teen knew that if there were any other offers for an internship, he could look better just by taking up fewer resources in the short-term; interns are expensive to train, after all.

"You have just said you aren't the best fit for this office, so why should I choose you over someone more qualified?" Sir Nighteye interrogated, tilting his glasses down. Izuku felt the change in the air at the foresight hero's gaze. It felt like he was under a microscope, as if everything he was bared to the person across the table.

He decided to match.

"Because while I'm not qualified yet, I can keep up until I am. I'll take less overall resources than most due to my hobby in quirk analysis and general planning skills." Izuku's chi filled the room, making the oppressive air around Nighteye more bearable. The interviewer was starting to connect things in his head but pushed on.

"Your hobby, give me an example." Sir Nighteye demanded. The teen simply pulled a notebook out, flipped to a page, and handed it over before reciting the contents.

"Togata Mirio, Quirk: permeation. The individual can phase through matter by reversing polarity in personal molecules, slipping between the space in atoms. Density and mass do not change, so non-physical forms of attacks such as ionizing radiation or gravity still affect the body. User's body falls while phased at a rate of 9.8 meters per second squared like all forms of matter, but is not slowed by buoyancy and friction. Returning from phased state causes a diamagnetic force to the user, making them launch in the path of least resistance until phasing shift has ended, launching them through mediums that don't move such as plaster and stone, but not liquids or gasses, which move out of the way. A difficult quirk to use, but highly dangerous with proper training."

"Damn…" Mirio muttered; while knowing your quirk was common, having someone lay out the facts in front of you after only one encounter and a brief explanation, it was more than a little unsettling.

"And you even made basic diagrams to illustrate…" the pro-hero noted before nodding. "Alright, for the next part, I'd like to talk with you alone. Mirio, if you could leave the room for ten minutes?"

"Ah, sure!" the blonde exclaimed before leaving the room. Izuku saw the door close and thought that the talk would go to a sensitive subject.

He didn't know how right he was.

* * *

"Yo Mirio-kun! How've you been!" the blonde in question turned around to see a familiar face.

"Awata-san, I've been doing well!" the phaser responded as he sat by the blue-skinned woman by the coffee machine. "I was just booted out of the room with Sir Nighteye and Midoriya."

"Oh, and how did first impressions go?" the cheerful woman asked.

"Made Sir laugh with a joke about coffee." he said just as she drank from her cup, making her choke and sputter the same hot liquid. At her glare he repeated the joke with the motions, making her giggle.

"So, what do you think his chances are?" she asked.

"Well, that depends if Midoriya can impress him or not."

* * *

"W-what?" Izuku asked in confusion. He probably misheard Sir-

"What part of the moonlit world are you from?" the seer repeated. "I started using my sight to see into your future, and you shifted the mood to the room with a smile. I know All Might could do the same, but not to your extent." now things were clearing up for the martial artist. The physical feats Nighteye could do, the extent of his foresight, the feeling of being under scrutiny, the pieces were coming together. Izuku bowed his head before doing a simple introduction.

"Izuku Midoriya, Chi user and martial artist." he greeted. Anima gave him the start of how to interact with those from the moonlit world; if you were from a magic family, you gave your family name first, otherwise, you used your given name. After that, you said what energy your supernatural abilities came from and how you used them.

"Jikan Shikaku, Magic-user, seer, and enforcer. Call me Sir Nighteye" Nighteye responded, and Izuku winced. Enforcers were known for enchanting their attire or body to grant superhuman strength and speed; seers weren't often fighters, but apparently, that wasn't the case in this instance.

"Now the video of you bracing a car makes more sense." was the first thing that came out of Izuku's mouth, and Nighteye gave a dry look in response. "Sorry. It just slipped out."

"It's fine, I just wanted to clear that up before we continued." Sir reassured. "Now onto the other subject I had Mirio leave for; One for All." Izuku's mouth went dry at the mention of the stockpiling quirk.

"Do you have what it takes to use that power like All Might?"

It was such a simple question, but the way it was phrased made Izuku feel uncomfortable. It was as if the seer was asking if he was going to be the next All Might. But there were too many differences between him and Toshinori. All Might was a brawler, an unstoppable pillar, an unreachable ideal, and Izuku just wasn't that.

"No, I can not and will not use it like All Might." the martial artist answered with confidence. "I'll never be the next All Might, but I will be the First Deku." Izuku couldn't hold his head high like his idol, because he never wants to miss helping the person in the alley.

Nighteye felt the teen's convictions and was moved. His answer wasn't what he expected, but the way he said it with what his sight provided of the teen's future made him see not his brightest moment like his former partner did, but how far the hero in front of him would go even in his darkest hour; the hero in green was battered and almost dying in his vision, but that immovable spirit still burned in his eyes like a supernova even after _years_ without dimming. The future wasn't a glory like All might's, but it seemed brighter because of the struggle involved.

"Well then, Deku, welcome to My hero agency. Let's see how your story plays out from now on." he said, holding a stamp up.

"Thank you for this opportunity, and I'll do my best." Izuku bowed as he handed the paperwork to his new employer.

* * *

The next day, Deku was in the agency wearing his hero suit. He was given the rundown for the assignment. He was partnered with Lemillion on patrol to look out for a member of the Yakuza named Kai Chisaki.

"Any abilities he has we should be aware of?" the younger teen asked. He wanted to cover bases and make plans involving what to do if they have to engage or run away.

"His quirk is named Overhaul. It can deconstruct and reconstruct matter on skin contact." Bubble Girl noted, but Deku wasn't satisfied with only that.

"How far does his powers reach, how fast can he manipulate it, is there a limit to how often or how much he manipulates before exhaustion?" he started rattling off question after question, making the blue-skinned heroine's eyes widen. She took a glance at Nighteye before speaking her thoughts.

"And you said he has no practice with information gathering?" she asked dubiously.

"No, I said he has no _training_ with information gathering." he replied deadpan before handing the newest intern a manilla folder of everything he was willing to share on the Yakuza boss. Deku flipped through the information at a quick speed before getting a rough estimate about who they were trying to find evidence against.

"Alright, I can work with this." Deku responded before handing the folder back. He and Lemillion started their patrol. While they were supposed to be gathering information on Chisaki, they were still heroes and would help anyone along the way. Izuku talked with his partner about the regulations and expectations of the group he was in while keeping a lookout for people needing help.

And a little girl just ran into him needing exactly that.

"Hey are you okay?" he asked her in worry. Her arms were covered in sloppy bandages and her silver hair was a mess. The child's entire body language screamed abuse and it tore at his heart to see someone so young this scared. When she looked up at him, he gave a smile and tried to calm her with his chi.

"Come now, you shouldn't interrupt the heroes on duty, Eri." the two heroes looked up and saw the person they were investigating; Overhaul.

* * *

Okay, that wasn't my best execution, but I think it went well enough. Now, as I was thinking of the way to go, I realised I could go one of two ways; Izuku could get dragged with Eri back to the Yakuza base (I got the idea from a Beacon in the dark, good fic on AO3, check it out), or I could have him escape from Overhaul with her, turning the table for the _yakuza_ storming the _heroes_ for her instead of the opposite like cannon. Leave a comment for which you would like to happen please, as this will be a turning point in the Arc. Thank you all for reading, and Till next time!"


	42. Rescue

Oh hey, I'm on the tv tropes fanfic rec page in AU, awesome! Sorry for the wait, it's been a hard choice. Onto the story!

* * *

Eri didn't know what to think. After she found a small opening in the attention of her "caretaker", she had managed to run. She only rounded a corner when she heard them shout after her, and soon Overhaul was gaining on her. She didn't want to go back, didn't want more scars; she wanted to be away from them.

When she ran into someone coming out of an alley, she was terrified. Even if they didn't work for Overhaul, he was good enough at acting to have them give her back.

Then she felt warm.

There was no other way to describe it. The man holding her made her feel warm, safe, as if nothing could hurt her in his arms. It was such a new sensation, having someone hold her and not feel cold, that she had to see who he was.

His smile was like a beacon.

He asked her if she was alright, like she mattered, more than for being material. She felt like even with her curse, his warmth would never go away. She wanted to bury herself in this new comfort, but the cold words of Overhaul made her shiver.

"Come now, you shouldn't interrupt the heroes on duty, Eri." he said with a false kindness that gripped her heart. She didn't want to go back to that coldness, especially now that she knew what real warmth was.

"It's alright sir, a hero's duty is to the public." the hero responded softly, but she could feel his warmth wrap around her like a blanket. He was getting protective of _her_ , a cursed existence. She hadn't even said a word, but he was putting a front up to keep her from going back to that cold.

"We still shouldn't give you a hard time, with how much you have to do anyway." Overhaul tried to reason, but Eri's hero was still firm.

"Don't worry about it, I like helping people, even if it's a little." the green hero responded before looking at her arms. "It seems her wrappings are getting dirty, how about I re-apply some of mine? I'd hate for her to get infected."

Eri felt Overhaul looking at her with veiled irritation, but she knew that he hated germs almost as much as heroes. He would have asked Chronostasis to replace her bandages when she was brought back, but maybe he would-

"You are right, diseases should be prevented." her tormenter agreed, but she knew the hidden meaning behind the words; Overhaul called everything he didn't like a disease.

Her hero pulled a small bag from his belt that had a green cross on it and started to pull out wipes and new bandages for her. As her hero carefully replaced her wraps, he continued to talk. Eri learned he liked to help people, and that he practiced something called martial arts, but the most precious thing she learned was the warm hero's name; Deku.

His partner in yellow, who was called Lemillion, looked concerned but was refraining from acting too brashly. She could tell he knew of Overhaul, and she didn't blame him from trying to steer Deku away.

"Those scars look really bad Chisaki-san." Deku commented after a while. "She really should see a doctor. If you'd let me, we could go down to the one a few blocks from here."

"It's fine, we don't have a referral, so I couldn't pay right now." Overhaul said as he hid his contempt. Eri knew that was a lie, but didn't say anything. She didn't have to.

"That's alright, I can cover the cost; insurance for heroes is a bit loose, so I can at least get her checked out. These scars are pretty new." Deku smoothly cut off, and Eri didn't know what to do with how much his warmth was coiling around her. She wasn't scared of Overhaul right now, because she was in Deku's arms; _nothing_ could touch her right now.

"Fine, if you insist." Overhaul said in mock defeat. "How 'bout we take a small shortcut; I wouldn't want to inconvenience you heroes any further."

"Alright, lead the way." she heard Deku respond before switching from hugging her to holding her hand, but there was something black in between their hands. She was starting to panic as her tormenter started to slide his left glove off. Just after getting out of sight, she felt her hand being tugged upwards as Deku barely dodged Overhaul.

"Lemillion, Get Eri out of here!" he shouted to his partner, who grabbed Eri in mid-air before riding along the wall higher than Overhaul could grab them. He responded by turning the walls around into spikes, trying to catch or kill Lemillion and Deku. The blonde simply moved through the new obstacles as if they weren't there while her hero dodged by a hair's breadth of the spikes surrounding him. As they landed on the roof, Eri's breath caught in her chest.

Overhaul had Deku by the neck.

* * *

To say Chisaki was pissed was an understatement. The little disease he was holding had just had his partner take his Eri away. He had played the caring card and managed to let her escape. The worse part was that it _worked_.

"Give me one reason I shouldn't turn you into a pile of ash right now!" the obayun ground through his rage. It would be so easy, there was just a thin glove between his right hand and the green heroes throat.

"Murder of a minor, and federal agent, is a hard thing to keep quiet. Evidence of child abuse even more so. You can't take on the government by yourself, and few allies would lend a hand." Deku responded calmly. It grated on Chisaki that he was right. He felt that air of calm weight fall over him harder than before, dulling his emotions as he rationally parsed through how best to deal with the nuisance in his grasp.

' _Heroes have an annoying history of fucking up the best plans just by being in the damn area, not to mention when they decide to involve themselves.'_ those damnable words from the leader of the League passed through him, and now he knew what he meant; this just became insanely complicated and messy.

"Fine, but you are not getting away from me. You are going to follow me back to base, and you'll be a bargaining chip for me to get the girl back. If you don't resist, I won't use the civilians as hostages. Deal?" Chisaki explained, and the virus nodded his head.

"Fair, but if you go back on this, I _will_ knock your head off, even if you unravel me as I do." the kid responded with steel in his voice. Chisaki could at least appreciate balls if nothing else. They were both holding a gun to each other's head, and they knew it. The worse part, Chisaki knew the brat would make true on his threat; he could feel it like the blanket of calm that covered them.

"Noted," the oyabun replied as he pulled his burner phone out with his ungloved hand before calling his chief advisor. "Chrono, pull the car up in front of the laundromat nearby; things have become complicated."

" _Understood. Have you retrieved Eri at least?"_ the time-manipulator asked as the sound of a car engine starting hummed in the background.

"That's the complicated part. She was taken by a hero with information to prosecute us, but I got his partner instead. Bring Nemoto, I want to see what he knows." Chisaki answered before turning to Deku. "let's go."

* * *

Lemillion was in a little bit of a panic. His partner was in the hands of the yakuza, he had the leader's daughter who was covered in scars, and because of the last fact, he was reluctant to go back to the Nighteye agency. Where else could he go though? He was holding a major target, who would even try to shelter them?

" _I swear to god Deku, if you don't start talking, I am going to send the summer hounds on your tail!"_ the blonde hero looked down to who that was to see Eri holding a phone, Deku's phone, with someone on the other end. Landing on a relatively safe rooftop, he gently took the device from the little girl.

"I'm sorry, My name is Lemillion-" he started, only to be interrupted.

" _You're Deku's sempai, right? He said that he was going on patrol with you today."_ the voice responded, and he could now tell it was a woman on the other end. He _really_ hoped it wasn't his mother calling.

"Yes, but Deku… he's in some trouble right now." the Phaser responded. There was a pause before she responded.

" _Well fuck."_ she responded bluntly. " _He called me just now, so how about you fill me in. I'll see what I can do on my end."_

"Well, um, I don't think a civilian should get involved in something like this." Lemillion answered. He didn't know why his partner called this woman, but she seemed to be acting as if it was natural. On his side, Eri was shuffling on her bare feet. It was risky to think, but he desperately needed a place to hide until he could contact Nighteye.

" _Cariño, I've been married to a hero longer than I haven't. If you can't tell me what you're involved in, then tell me what you need."_ those words gave the phaser pause; he had to get Eri off the street and safe until a hero could take custody.

"Can I ask for shelter for a bit? I have the daughter of a yakuza with me, and we need to hide."

" _Of course, how old is she, and does she need anything?"_ the blonde was surprised at the quick response, but gathered his bearings.

"She looks to be around five or six, and she needs food and clothes. Deku and I suspect she may have been abused." the hero responded professionally. The air around him suffused with a palpable rage, and he had a sinking suspicion that the person on the other line was rightfully pissed.

" _I'll text the address to the phone; I'll be ready for you when you get here. The door is open."_ she responded succinctly. Lemillion was curious how she could calmly respond when he could feel her anger through the phone.

"Thank you, ma'am. I didn't get your name." he now had something of a plan.

" _It's no issue dear, and my name is Jesse Cacciatore. I hope to see you soon."_ the woman hung up, and Lemillion heard a text pass through not a minute later.

"Come on Eri, let's get you off the streets." he said, holding his arms out to the little girl. She gently went into him as he picked her up and he started running to the address he was given. Now all that was left was telling Nighteye what happened.

* * *

I think this is a good stopping point. Choosing how to handle this arc has been rough. As I said in the last chapter, I was debating whether to have Izuku with Eri captured by the Eight precepts, or escape with her and have the yakuza attack the heroes. Then, at 1:45 in the f***ing morning, my mind goes "why not both?" and I made this. Started it then, and finished it in the morning after. Anyway, thank you for reading, I hope to read your comments about what you think. Till next time!


	43. Custody

"What is your name?" asked the caped plague doctor Deku figured was the Nemoto person Overhaul mentioned over the phone. He felt a pressure on his mind as his interrogator's quirk pushed him to answer truthfully.

"Deku." he replied. While he couldn't outright lie, quirk or no, he was more than capable of twisting the truth and omitting facts. The masked man wanted a name? He considered his hero alias as a name in its own right, so he gave that.

"No family name?" he inquired, and the pressure resumed.

"Hazure-chi." It was true, in a sense; the Outliers were a hero group and family, and he was the newest member, but that didn't matter.

"What does your quirk do?" the man in the mask inquired.

"Stockpiling physical enhancement." the hero didn't think it was relevant that he gained it from someone else, or to mention chi. He only asked what his quirk did, and even then he didn't ask what it stockpiled _from_.

"Why did you think it was a wise idea to have Eri escape while you took her place?" Nemoto asked, taking the answer at face value; probably because his quirk acted as a truth serum. The thing he didn't seem to understand was that, in the hero community, there wasn't only one truth.

"I didn't, but it was a better option than letting her stay with you; I recognized the marks of abuse." the only double meaning behind that statement was that he recognized the mental scars as well. Shoto had the same feeling of pain, if coated by hate and anger.

"Do you understand how my quirk functions?" that was a hard one, but the pieces were lining up for the hero in green. He let the pressure build in his mind as he thought about his word choice.

"You can force someone to answer your questions in what they feel are true and relevant." it was dicey, but he refused to say that it forced him to say _a_ truth instead of _the_ truth, as then he could pick up what he was doing. So far, he had managed to rephrase his answers until he gave no information they could use.

"An odd way to phrase it, but true. My quirk is called Confession, and so far you can't seem to resist it. It's been done before, but not often. You don't seem to be able to though." the masked interrogator explained, and Deku's theory was confirmed.

' _criminals love to monologue and explain their plans to those who will listen. This is true from thugs that can't rub enough brain cells together to keep from getting a head cold to the mastermind megalomaniacs; everyone wants to be on top, and that's how most get caught.'_ Anima's words couldn't be truer in this instance. So Deku decided to ask his own questions.

"Why do that to her though? From the scars, there were skin grafts removed and blood drawn by needle enough times that she had track marks on her arms. I can't think you did that just to torment her." Nemoto's head tilted as if he didn't think he was going to be questioned himself while Deku was wearing a quirk-suppressing collar and firmly tied to his chair. "Hey, give and take. I can at least know why, can't I?"

"Overhaul was right; you do have guts." the caped man responded. "Her quirk is vital to our plan. She can rewind someone to a previous state, and we will use that to bring the world back to the time before quirks and heroes; back when the Yakuza were feared more than petty thugs with _powers_."

And there it was. Deku was trying to understand why they would do this, and it was the most shallow reason many criminals had; a want of power and control. It was one of the most common reasons people had for the greatest atrocities in history, right alongside, if not combined with nationalism and racism. Nationalism and power-hunger made the first and second world wars require the Geneva convention, add racism and the civil war in the USA almost created a third one a hundred and twenty-five years later. The Yakuza wanted to be in power again by knocking everyone else down instead of changing practices and adapting.

"You seem to have taken quite a bit from my answer." Nemoto spoke, breaking the hero's train of thought. "What is your opinion on our plan?"

"It's stupid." was the first thing that flew out of Deku's mouth, but he didn't mind; this should at least make them pause. "It plays to the fact that people wouldn't stand up because they don't have powers, but there's a _fucking_ monument, several in fact, of heroes that had no power whatsoever doing that to far larger organizations than yours. You know what they were called? Soldiers, police, zeroes, the titles go on. If there's an idea, there's someone who will fight for it to the death. I met one from my elementary school; he was a veteran who taught history, and he lost his left leg and right heel on a landmine, but when an intruder came in, _he grabbed a baseball bat to fight them_. Not because he was powerful, but because he thought it was better to die protecting his students than live on the sideline and watch them die instead. Powers don't change things; people do."

There was a pause as Nemoto took Deku's words into consideration. It wasn't smart, it wasn't logical, but the idea that removing quirks from the equation would remove heroes was stupid; he was a direct contrast to that idea before All Might passed his quirk to him.

"True, but the amount of opposition would drastically decrease just because people wouldn't have the guarantee of victory. Thank you for your insight though Hazure-chi. We will take your idea into consideration. Rappa, take him to her room." the interrogator called.

"You got it." was the simple response before Deku's chair was lifted with him attached to it. It looks like this was all the questions for today. He just had to wait for Lemillion to bring backup, but he could wait until then. Hell, he could stay as long as needed until his partner could come back; until then, he had to try and make their job easier when he does.

* * *

Lemillion stepped up to the porch of the massive house that Jesse had given him the address of. Before he could knock through, the door opened to reveal a tall woman of foreign descent wearing a simple violet dress. Her eyes were a sunset orange while her hair was raven black. Overall she was a stunning example of beauty.

"You must be Lemillion and Eri." she noted with a silky voice before stepping further into her home. "Come on in; I'm making food, and you two look like you need it."

"It smells wonderful." the blonde teen commented as he led his temporary charge by the hand into the woman's abode. "But do you mind looking after her while I report to my mentor?"

"Of course not." the she-wolf said, taking Eri from the hero. "I'll get her settled while you do that." Lemillion thanked her before stepping to the side and calling Nighteye.

" _Lemillion, where are you? You and Midoriya should have met up with us by now."_ the calm voice eased some of the tension in the teen's body, but he didn't think that calm would last.

"We ran into Overhaul, Sir, and a young girl running from him. Deku had managed to calm her, but apparently, he is her guardian. After confirming signs of physical abuse, he managed to get her away from Overhaul. I am currently at the house of one of his contact, who claims to be the wife of a hero." he explained, trying not to think about the Obayun gripping his neck or Eri's terrified expression until he absolutely had to.

" _I'll need to talk to him about this then. Hand the phone over to Midoriya."_ the seer sighed and Lemillion flinched, knowing that he had to tell him now. The sight of him at the mercy of someone with a quirk as strong as his was terrifying, but that burning determination in his eyes gave him hope he was still alive.

That hope just made his stomach twist further.

"I… I can't. Deku covered my retreat with Eri, and the last I saw him was when he was caught by Overhaul. I don't know where he is at the moment, or… or if he's even…" he choked out. He _hated it_ , the inability to help, the feeling of uselessness, the rage and worry he felt for his partner, _everything_.

" _Give me the address and stay there; I'll call the other agencies, and we'll mount a rescue, but right now I need to talk with you face to face."_ Nighteye responded with ice in his voice. The phaser wanted to do anything but that. He wanted to rush back in and save his kouhai, both then and now, but he knew he had to listen. He despised the fact he couldn't do anything to help but sit still and wait, but he gave the address and decided to stay put.

"Please hurry?" It wasn't a request, it was a _plea_. The desperate beg of a teen trying his best to save lives, but finding it wasn't enough when it mattered most, when someone was _right there in front of him_.

"Of course." Sir Nighteye said softly.

* * *

Jesse hummed a soft tune for the scared little girl she held in her arms as the child slept. She could project her chi around her, but after hearing about how she felt in Izuku's arms when Eri ran into him, the she-wolf decided to do one better. Izuku had spent enough time at the house that there was a guest room for him, but even if it was sparse, it had some things of his that held his aura.

Like the green shirt with his name spelled as endurance he often wore during his chi training. It was saturated in his chi often, and so it felt like him. Eri had used it to change out of her dirty white dress and she calmed almost instantly.

Jesse doubted she would take it off anytime soon, but that was fine.

Jesse felt sorry for the girl, and even the young hero who escorted her here. Peoples emotions were easy to identify by smell, and the two kids couldn't hide the fear they held. Lemillion's was more acute, from losing his partner on the first day in a stressful situation. Eri though… fear was almost all she could sense, but the switch from tense enough for running to calm enough to sleep just with wearing one of Izuku's shirt told her how much of an impact her student had on the little one.

Lemillion was done talking on the phone with Nighteye while she was stirring the pot and took some time to collect himself. Jesse still overheard the conversation, hard not to with the thin walls and heightened senses, but let him explain who was coming over. The she-wolf understood and figured that she would just make Anima's lunch for the next day out of something other than leftovers.

Then she smelled and heard two people outside. Overhearing their talk, she figured it was the blonde teen's mentor and the man's partner. Jesse got the tableware and asked the blonde hero to set the table for the five of them as she put the stew on the brass trivet in the middle before going to the door to invite the guests inside.

* * *

Nighteye could _feel_ the magic flowing around the house Mirio had told him about, and if he were honest, it was a little intimidating. Either the owner of the house was a moderately powerful mage, or had something in the house that was powerful enough he could feel it from the entrance. Given this was a contact of Izuku's, he was betting the later.

"Damn, Midoriya knows people in high places if they live here." Kaoruko said in awe of the massive size. Nighteye had to agree; the house was on at least three-quarters of an acre of property and three stories tall. It must have cost a fortune to buy the land alone, never mind the house.

"Come on Awata, let's see how much we have to work with." the seer told his partner before walking up to the front door. Before he rang the doorbell, A woman carrying a sleeping young girl answered. Although Kaoruko couldn't tell, Nighteye started re-evaluating his newest intern.

"Come on in; I've made venison stew for everyone." The woman of the house said sweetly before ushering the heroes inside.

How the hell did he miss the Moon Huntress and Battlewolf living in Japan for the past decade!?

That's enough for this chapter, and I'm glad it was easier to write than the last one. Anyway, I wanted to give some more character to Jesse's perspective, since it's been a while since we've heard from her. Also, no, Nighteye didn't know that Jesse and Anima were in his country. Anima has been working mainly away from the spotlight, as he doesn't care if he gets good pr or not, and his fight with Archibald was overshadowed by All Might and Deku fighting All for one (and blowing up Kamino Ward). Jesse's Picture wasn't shown on TV, and he didn't know her real name. Anyway, thank you all for reading so far, and I gleefully await any comments you may give me. Till next time!


	44. Preparing for Action

Sorry for the long wait, with so many things happening and changes in the household (my sister moving in with my brother for instance), I haven't had the time nor drive to write, but I managed! enjoy.

* * *

Eri was at first nervous about the new people that came in the house, but with Jesse holding her hand and coaxing a few answers from the scarred child, she was able to say a little of what Chisaki used her curse for. She didn't know the specifics, but that was enough of a testimony for the heroes to actually gain a warrant for an arrest. Awata was trying to cheer her up with her quirk, making bubbles of different colors to impress the little girl.

Then someone else came in.

"Tempesta, what happened while I was gone?" he asked, and Eri was more than a little intimidated by his large build and yellow eyes (so much like _his_ ) until he gave her a warm smile. It was like Deku's, but sharper; a blade instead of a shield, but it still made her feel like she mattered.

"Caballero, this is sir Nighteye, Bubble Girl, and Lemillion from Deku's agency. He seems to have gotten into trouble helping get Eri-chan here away from the Yakuza." Jesse said with a veiled rage behind her smile.

"The hell, it's the first fucking day in the area…" the large man growled before collecting himself and giving an introduction. "Hello, My name is Anima, but I go by the hero alias Fiara."

"Pleasure." Nighteye said before relaying what they knew so far. The palatable anger from Anima was startling, but it stemmed from a protective streak of someone he considered family.

"Right. You're his superior, so you get the joy of dealing with paperwork. Do you think it'd be safer for Jesse to stay with your group, or with my wife and I?" the werewolf asked. There was a pause as the Seer thought over the options.

"In terms of pure power, my agency is rather lacking, but I take it you aren't?" Nighteye stated rather than asked.

"I don't have All Might's strength, but I'm better skilled and about as durable. Heightened senses on top of that and they would be hard pressed trying to sneak up on us." was the reply and Mirio looked skeptical, but seeing Nighteye take the larger man seriously, decided not to question.

"Alright then, but you are dealing with the custody paperwork. I'll organize a meeting the day after tomorrow with the other heroes." he said without preamble.

"Then we'll meet again in two days." Anima agreed before the guests started to leave. It was getting dark, and the Cacciatores slept in wolf form, with Eri in between the two, warming her in more ways than one.

"Don't worry Eri, Deku will be fine, and we'll protect you until he comes back." Jesse said soothingly before the scarred girl fell asleep without fear for the first time she could remember.

* * *

"Gahk!" Deku coughed as he felt another blow to his gut from his tormenter, Rikiya Katsukame. Apparently, just because they had someone who could force the truth out of you didn't mean they weren't above brutalizing you.

"Notin' personal, just need ta rough ya up before negotiations." the massive man said as he gave the greenette time to breathe.

"Y-yeah, just doing what you're told, right? Kah!" Deku repeated before coughing again. "What happened to Yakuza honor though? I remember stories where you guys had one…"

"Really?" Rikiya asked before delivering another punch, this time to the cheek. "Can't say I 'ave mahself." The hero got his bearings again before replying.

"Yeah, back before the Kosei Reform, they followed the Ninkyo code of honor. Oyabuns worried about making sure the people and territory were well maintained before expanding and making a profit." there was another impact against his arm, making him hope it didn't dislocate from the sound of the pop.

"Huh, well that's inerestin'. Why would they run ship like dat?" the muscled yakuza inquired. He never had the chance to learn, growing up in the junkyards with his old man before it was bought out by a big-name company; after that, he had to worry about food more than books.

"because people buy more when they're happy and safe. Yakuza got profit from protection rackets and drugs, among other things like legitimate businesses. You hear the phrase 'don't crap where you eat?' if the civilians find the local crime lords more appealing, or less shitty, than they prefer to have the better one in power." at this point Rikiya was more interested in listening to the teenage hero than beating him black and blue, so he pulled up a chair.

"What 'bout the fuzz? They ain't gunna just let us run 'round. Heroes are none different."

"That's the smart thing they did; Yakuza compromised. With a couple moles here, giving tips to the cops about competitors and invaders on their turfs there, and not selling the stuff that'll turn heads, and the police kept a good reputation and had more control than they otherwise would while the crime bosses stayed in power. There were even instances of them offering relief aid during natural disasters."

There was a pause as Rikiya thought over the information given to him. While he was uneducated, he was quick on the uptake and started seeing how such a system would work. It was bloodier than mentioned, no doubt, but the idea of focusing everyone on the dangers outside of your territory while keeping thing relatively clean inside, you had the good graces of the officials to look the other way and paying the media off, though harder now, wasn't impossible. There was only one thing missing though.

"Ya can't keep that balance forever without ta otha shoe droppin'." he said succinctly, but Deku only grinned.

"When you're more effort to take out than your worth and have enough capital to make people miserable if you leave, it's better to have the enemy you know has similar interests rather than the one banging down the door and killing your men." was the young heroes response.

The massive thug was thinking about what new threats the Eight Precepts of Death were dealing with and how the old style mitigated if not outright dealt with them. They had to spend massive amounts to keep the press from shouting their crimes, the internet was a bitch to scan over for videoes of their shakedowns, the police were investigating them, the heroes were now going to raid the base for one of their own, and the punks and outside gangs were spreading them thin enough that a few were arrested or killed.

"Ya got a point kid, now I feel kinda bad about smakin' ya down." he admitted.

"Enough to stop?" Deku asked hopefully.

"Sorry, can't." Rikiya cracked his knuckles. Before he could continue, the door opened to show Rappa.

"Hate to break up your fun, but the boss found out where the girl lived with a few of his contacts; some couple called Cacciatores are keepin' her, so we're gonna show 'em why they should ditch her, so grab a light stick on the way." the brawler explained. Deku laughed silently at the idea.

Anima and Jesse were protecting her, so he was sure she'd be fine; you never want to piss off a werewolf, let alone two.

* * *

The next day, Anima took Eri out to get her clothes and things for her stay. He saw the way his wife acted around her, and knew this would be more than a foster or temporary arrangement if she had any say about it. Not that he would try and stop her anyway; kids always made the house more lively.

His first thought was the mall, but realizing how overwhelming that would be for the little girl, he went to a more local strip and had her choosing clothes from a nice store. There came issue number one.

"Eri-chan, it's fine to have more than three sets of clothes; in fact, I want you to have more than that." the martial artist told her, but she only picked up another shirt and skirt. Apparently, she didn't understand what indulging meant. Taking a breath, Anima decided to pull a card he hadn't needed to use in some time; buying behind her back.

Every time her eyes lingered on a shirt or dress, the werewolf would add it to the cart when Eri wasn't looking. Was it the best idea? No, but she needed to learn wanting things didn't mean not getting at this point. Later on, they'd cut back on spoiling her.

Her look of shock when they got to the register was admittedly funny, but that wasn't the end to shopping.

After having all of their things delivered to home, the two went to a cafe for food. Eri was still overwhelmed by the waitresses and the large portions they gave her, but the horned child eventually finished her sandwich and apple ribbon. Seeing her still not opening up to him all that much, Anima decided to drive the two out to see something more than the noisy metropolis that was Mustafu. Making sure her helmet was on right (not easy with an asymmetric horn, but doable), the two rode out of the city to the mountain track at highway-breaking speeds.

The thrill of knowing that you had so much power beneath you was lost on the werewolf, but the feeling of wind against your face and buffeting your body wasn't. Sure he could run even faster than a jetliner could fly on most days, but that took effort, while the motorcycle didn't.

Feeling Eri against his chest and between his arms, he sensed her excitement, but also a slight bit of fear. It took a while to reach the rest platform that overlooked the forest near where the Pussycats lived. The forest was probably going to turn red in a few weeks, but for now, the green leaves were still there for his charge to enjoy.

"How're you holding up, chibi?" he asked as she looked out over the cliff face. She looked up at the unfamiliar nickname.

"I'm okay, it's just…" Eri trailed off.

"Too much change?" the werewolf supplied. As she nodded, Anima knew what the main issue was; she was scared that if she acted out, she would end up back with her tormentors by drawing too much attention. The werewolf sat cross-legged and put his charge in his lap.

"How 'bout I tell you of a friend I had. His name was Denis, and he was scary powerful with his quirk." Anima started to talk. He told her of the man who would later be known as the hero Mind Master, his folk's abandoning him, living on the streets, and later finding the werewolf and his friends. The good he did, and the trauma he overcame. Enrapturing the child on the accomplishments of the man who the world tried to break, and how he broke the world back. Nearing the end of the story, Eri asked a question.

"What happened to him?" she knew he was talking in past-tense, meaning something happened to the man she could see herself as.

"After his wife died he just, shut down." Anima explained. "She was his world, and with her gone, he didn't want to keep going; we found him a week after in his bed, dead from carbon monoxide poisoning."

There was no sugarcoating from him about what happened, and Eri cried for a person she never met while Anima held onto her. Once that dam broke, all of her emotions came bursting through.

"It alright chibi, let it out as much as you want." the werewolf soothed as he comforted the girl in his arms. It was a bit of a dirty tactic to use his late friend's memory to help her cry over her own situation, but it was ultimately better in the long run.

After a while, Eri calmed down and the two decided to go home. Taking the main roads because of the late hour, the motorcycle got to the Cacciatore villa.

Which happened to be on fire…

"Well fuck." Anima said succinctly.

* * *

That's a wrap for now. So Anima's home is up in flames, the heroes are gathering, and the yakuza are trying to pick another fight with something they don't understand. But for this chapter, was Anima's trick to get Eri to express her emotions underhanded? Hell yes, but living for so long means that he has seen the downsides of suppressing volatile emotions from dozens of examples (himself included), and if that meant playing the devil's advocate, he doesn't mind being hated. Anyways, thank you for sticking with me, and please leave a review. I have so far still hept up my goal of reading every one of your 258 comments. Till next time!


	45. Declaration of War

"The house is on fire and it's not my fault." was the first thing Jesse heard from her husband. How he could say it with such a dry tone she could only guess.

"Is Eri okay?" the she-wolf asked. Almost everything in the house was replaceable as long as _that_ was undamaged.

"She's fine, we weren't home by the time the fire department was called." Anima responded with indifference. "Say, isn't Sugarman and Tentacole in the area? Lifting debris would be easier with them."

"I'll call their mentors." the psychiatrist sighed. Thankfully she had their numbers due to her position.

"Thanks. I'll call after we sort through the ashes. I love you." hearing those three words from him made her heart stutter just a little.

"I love you too, bye." she hung up. Looking at the intercom, the she-wolf informed Nezu of what was going on. The animal curiously asked if they would need help paying for a new residence, but both knew it was only lip service; Anima and she had investments that dated back centuries, so what's a few million yen out of pocket? All they needed was time and a hotel until it was rebuilt.

* * *

Sugarman was mildly surprised to see his classmate meeting up with him and going to the same place. The address his mentor was given seemed familiar to the spiky-haired teen. Turning a street, he finally put it together.

"Anima-sensei!" he called, and the martial artist turned to see the two interns. Seeing a small child with him was unusual, but given their career choice not worrying.

"Good to see you two in good health. Firemen have put sand around the building, so we're just waiting for the fire to burn out." the werewolf greeted.

"Shouldn't we put it out and salvage what's left?" Tentacole asked, clearly unnerved by the calm air surrounding the teacher; Anima was excitable and passionate, so this cold -the closest word but not quite- indifference was new and unpleasant.

"Anything of value will survive the fire while everything else is replaceable." was the answer they got. After another few dozen minutes, the fire did burn out, and the mansion was nothing but ash. The trio of heroes then started exploring the lot and gathered everything still in one piece.

Several knives of all varieties were found but slightly damaged and needing care from a smith. The steel and cast iron pots and pans were still in good condition and even the steel jewelry box had all of its contents unharmed. The armory locker was still standing and it contents mostly unharmed, save for some rope weapons that frayed from the heat. The swords in the living room were magic, therefore unaffected by the inferno.

"Hey Sugarman, give me a hand with this will ya?" Anima asked, holding the handle to a massive metal box that wasn't even discolored from oxidation; obviously it was made of something insane. The yellow-clad hero gripped the other handle, which was suprisingly cool to the touch, and the two grunted as the chest was pulled from the ashes and carried past the line in the sand.

"What's in the chest sensei?" the brown-haired hero asked. The werewolf simply opened the box and showed him and Tentacole.

"I was part of an old hero group called the Outliers, only joined a year after it was made, to be honest. Over the years, I realized how many pictures, training videoes, sparing tapes, audio logs, and so forth we made together." he explained, holding up a large scrap-book. "This holds their names, aliases, birth and death days, from the founder Science Pirate to the twins Cathode and Diode. The house can be rebuilt, the gardens replanted, and the furniture replaced. As long as the memory chest is still intact, the fire can take the rest." the relieved smile on the teacher's face was a nice change from the unnerving look he had before.

"I'm glad you have what is important." the multi-armed hero said with a smile. "I was worried because of how little of the house remained. The fire truly did eat everything; there isn't even a wall standing."

"Well, the house was built to burn easily. Other than the safe room underground, everything was supposed to be destroyed." Anima admitted, making the younger heroes look at him in confusion.

"Why would you make a house like that?" Tentacole asked in bafflement.

"After my third house was burnt down, I learned that sifting through multiple floors of uneven and fragile flooring is bound to get someone hurt, so it's safer if the house just turned to ash and salvage on the foundation." the martial artist shrugged.

" _Third_? How many houses have you lost?" Sugarman honestly didn't want to hear the answer, but curiosity was a dangerous thing.

"Nineteen. Seven burned down, four blown up with explosives, four caught in the crossfire of a hero-fight, three in a failed attempt on my life, and one from an earthquake." Anima could hear his students silent 'wtf' from behind him and smiled. "When you live as long as me, you make some rather stubborn enemies sooner or later. But now I have to prepare for the meeting tomorrow, I'll see Tentacole there."

As Anima calmly talked to the firefighter about sending the recovered items to a storage facility and wandered off with the little girl, the two heroes-in-training were processing what he told them.

"Hey, Sato?"

"Yeah Mezo?"

"Being a hero doesn't seem all that safe of a career."

"Yeah, but at least now that we're aware of the dangers, we can prepare for 'em."

"True."

* * *

Nighteye was pouring over the information that the other agencies were capable of gathering on such short notice. Fatgum and his interns had come across someone with quirk-suppressing bullets, but thankfully Suneater's quirk came back. Adding this with Lock Rock coming across a Precept's Trigger deal and Ryukyu's firearm bust, the list of evidence was piling up.

The oracle was stressing himself out, but he needed to get everything prepared for when the heroes would rescue Izuku. The green-haired teen was under his supervision when he rescued Eri and stared down Overhaul, and yet his sight didn't tell him what would happen. The Fates truly had a cruel sense of humor.

"Sir Nighteye?" Bubble Girl called from the door.

"Yes Kaoruko-san?" he intoned without looking up from his desk. Suddenly a tray of food was placed over the paperwork.

"You need to eat Sir. Thinking takes calories, and you tend to hyperfocus."

Nighteye looked at what his employee brought him and smiled. On the tray were smiley pancakes, bacon and cracker bowties, rabbit apples, octopi hotdogs, and a line of powdered brown something. Taking the paper that held the brown powder, he looked closer and smelled what it was; _coffee grounds._

"Pfft! Hahaha! I see Deku's joke spread around!" the oracle laughed, making the blue-skinned girl do the same. After a while, Nighteye got his composure back and poured the instant coffee in the hot water. Taking a drink and eating what he was given, the tension had bled away from his shoulders and eyes.

"Thank you Bubble Girl, I needed this." he didn't specify what 'this' was, but that didn't matter.

"We'll follow your lead Sir, just make sure that you're well enough to take charge." the young hero explained, and Nighteye couldn't help but nod.

Even if he had to burn all his assets, he'll bring back Deku; he was under his charge after all.

* * *

"Is everything ready?" Chisaki asked. Joi gave a thumbs up from behind the camera while Chrono did the same next to a monitor.

"Well then, I guess the show's about to start. Gijutsu, your mark." the Oyabun stated, and the hacker just pointed to his boss. The screen lit up, and Overhaul saw the meeting room the heroes were gathered in.

" _Well we can't just sit on our thumbs when Deku is still held by them._ " a hero with padlock earrings said to a bug-looking man in a suit.

" _We have no choice at the moment. With their forces gathered and focused, the-_ "

" _Gentlemen, we seem to have a guest._ " the hero in a military suit intoned, pointing to the screen. Overhaul wanted to kill them all right then; next to the caped hero was a woman holding _his_ Eri. The room turned at the screen, and he could see multiple emotions on their faces.

"Please, don't stop on my account…?" the Oyabun prodded.

" _Fiara._ " the hero responded curtly.

" _How did you-?_ " a teenager with red hair asked, but clamped shut. The other heroes held their tounges as they waited for him to act.

"You pests have managed to steal something of mine, and I gained something from you." at this point, Mimic turned the camera a nudge, bringing in focus someone with a sack over their head. Overhaul removed the bag to reveal Deku, bruised and bloodied with a gag in his teeth, for everyone to see.

" _Bastard-_ " a blonde teen and the bald hero beside him intoned but were shut up.

" _Quiet, losing your temper will lose his life_." Fiara and a desk worker commanded at the same time. The crime boss was silently impressed at how the two could control their group through such a charged situation with nothing but words.

"Good to see you have your heads on right." the bird-masked yakuza applauded. "Here's how this will go down; meet me at the south side of the bridge in Nal Hutta park. I'll receive my _possession_ , and you get your dear hero." Eri flinched at what he called her, but that was irrelevant. He and his men had done this multiple times before; police, politician, businessmen, if you had something they valued, they sang to your tune.

"Hey, Eri-chan. I'm glad to see you're doing well." Overhaul turned his head to see Deku had bitten through his gag and was momentarily stunned. "Don't worry, I'll play with you after this is settled." The confident posture and calm smile on the teen's face were baffling, given the circumstances, but the Oyabun needed to regain control.

"No one gave you permission to talk!" Overhaul growled as he punched the greenette's head. The crack of the crime boss's hand sounded through the room and picked up by the mics, but he kept his face impassive through the pain.

" _Ha! I imagine that was what, the third metacarpal? Yeah, that's broken._ " Fiara laughed, and Chisaki had to agree; the brat's skull felt like a fucking brick!

"Sensei?" Deku Questioned.

" _Aye?_ " the caped hero responded. So was this the brat's teacher?

"Se muoio, assicurati che mia madre non pianga." while Overhaul didn't know the language, he could tell they said something important. The grin on his teacher's face said things weren't about to go his way.

" _Nighteye, si mens non mittet in circuitu ejus in consilio petram?_ " again with the fucking language, but the oyabun did recognise a name; _Nighteye_ , the sidekick of All Might.

" _me volente, lupus proelium._ " the desk worker- hero, this was a hero- responded with a grin to match.

"I don't like being ignored, and you seem to think that it's a good idea to piss me off." Overhaul said with a hand on Deku's shoulder.

" _Well, that's unfortunate, but it seems we're going to offer a counter to your proposal._ " Nighteye said with a sigh. " _Kai Chisaki, you are under investigation for fraud, assault, murder, trafficking, kidnaping, arson, possesion and distribution of drugs, biological warfare, terrorism, and child abuse._ "

"What!?" overhaul shouted.

" _Tomorrow, we will be coming to retrieve Deku. the day after that, Eri will be leaving the country to hide from you. Until then, Salvarrn nature preserve is going to be our base of operations. If Deku is dead, Daisy Cutter; need I say more?_ " Fiara stated before someone called something from the door. The screen then cut out.

"S-sir?" the hacker announced with fear. "We got kicked from the system."

* * *

"What the hell man! You just said losing our temper would risk the kid's life; might as well have given the man a gun to point at Deku's head." Lock Rock shouted at Fiara.

"I have to agree with Rock here Fiara. This has just made the situation more volitile." Fatgum questioned. More and more heroes were lambasting the werewolf until Nighteye spoke up.

"That is enough! I gave Fiara permission to act as he saw fit, and it seems you all haven't noticed something; none of your interns are questioning him, despite being Deku's classmates." he pointed out. Nitro, Thermal Shock, Tentacole, Uravity, Froppy, Red Riot, Real Steel, and Earphone Jack were all sitting calmly, thinking about the options while their supervisors were shouting. After a minute, Nitro spoke up.

"Alright Wolf grin, why did you give them both the Deadline _and_ location? Can't think the bastards would act without us being weak… never mind, I see the point." the explosive blonde said with a grin.

"Good on you Nitro; seems tactic training wasn't lost on you." the martial artist said. "What I did was put our opponent in a corner, forced to move a certain way to remotely win."

"You mean…" Crazy Eight started, and Fiara nodded.

"He knows when we'll come, and that it'll lose us some manpower. He'll try for Eri then, at the battlefield _we_ chose, when our forces are split; one part defending Eri while the other going after Deku."

"Thus leaving his forced divided as well. Knowing how valued Eri is for his plans, he'll send the bigger numbers and better quality forces after her." Nighteye interjected, and then it clicked for everyone just what he did.

"You forced him to move when _you_ wanted it, so we can prepare and have a better chance of securing both targets." Ryukyu said. "And threatening to bomb his base if Deku is dead prevents him from killing him and moving everyone to attack, because it'll cost him resources and his base."

"Precisely!" the werewolf grinned. The table shook as Lock Rock bolted up.

"This is dangerous. If he calls the bluff, then the kid will die, and he'll have the girl back in his hands." the dark-skined hero stated with heat in his voice. "If the kid is killed, it's on your hands." Fiara looked at him without flinching and spoke so calmly, everyone who knew him could tell of the rage it hid.

"Deku was no longer a kid the moment he put on the cape and mask. He and I both know the risks, but that is the essence of a hero; keeping the populace safe, even at the cost of your life. I told him this for years, and he's never shown hesitation to make that call, even _just now_ on screen. And I made no bluff. If she will be safer out of the country, then I'll fly her myself if I have to." the monster stated.

"He's still a young-" the new father tried, but Fiara didn't let him.

"I've worked with younger, and they are every bit the hero I was. I started at age thirteen myself. Deku made his choice, and now it's our job to finish what he started and _hopefully_ bring him back alive."

The room was silent as the two heroes stared each other down, but Lock eventually slumped down and waved for him to continue.

After everyone was positioned, Fiara started asking questions and sorting people to either the defensive team, or the rescue team. Some weren't happy, but they understood the reasons while others were happy to be where they could use their abilities to do the most in the situation. Tomorrow, there would be hell to pay, and all of the first-years at UA knew it.

Cry havoc, and let slip the dogs of war.

* * *

Well, this was fun to write, but unfortunately, I am getting tired of writing this story. Don't get me wrong, but for my first Fanfic, this went on longer than I thought it would. I'll finish this arc, and then do a wrap-up, but I will go on to other stories. Thank you all for reading, and please leave a review. If you want more, look at my other story: Forced Evolution. Till next time!

Latin translations:

si mens non mittet in circuitu ejus in consilio petram~ mind if I cast a rock into his plan

me volente, lupus proelium~be my guest, battle wolf

The Italian Deku spoke is translatable via Google translate.


End file.
